


The Memelords' Guide to Surviving Duel Academy

by 0bviousLeigh



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: F/F, School Life, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-10-16 03:59:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 22,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10563246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: Two years after Judai and his friends graduated from Duel Academy, their presence is still felt all over the island, and a new generation of students find themselves navigating the strange lore that surrounds their school.





	1. Control

**Author's Note:**

> based on [this](https://yugioh-thoughts.tumblr.com/post/158243964981/duel-academy-memes) text post

On her first day of class, Sayaka is so excited that she wakes up at the crack of dawn, gets washed and dressed, and is at the cafeteria before it even opens. But it’s okay, because she’s not alone.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Sayaka calls as Momo comes bounding up the stairs.

“How can anyone sleep late on a day like this?” Momo asks.

The two of them have been waiting for this day since Duel Academy opened. They knew that someday they would be students at the school, and though they’re in separate dorms, Ra for Sayaka and Obelisk for Momo (curse Duel Academy for picking this year of all years to make all the dorms gender neutral!), at least they have all their classes together.

The cafeteria opens and Momo and Sayaka bow to the staff. The serving ladies fuss over the pair of them and ask if they were waiting long, which the two of them assure they weren’t.

“We’re so excited to start classes,” Momo gushes as the staff dole out their breakfast.

“How lovely,” a lady with a nametag reading Anna says. “You remember that enthusiasm when midterms come along!”

Momo and Sayaka thank Anna and head to the tables. By the time they finish breakfast, the other students are just starting to trickle in. even though they have time to kill, Sayaka suggests heading to their classroom anyway.

“We can make sure we get perfect seats.”

Momo agrees and they head out. They get a little lost, Duel Academy already seems big from the outside but it’s a lot bigger inside. Eventually they find their classroom, and Momo makes a beeline for the middle row, middle seat.

“Not right in the teacher’s line of sight!” Sayaka chides. “Go a little to one side, that way they’ll see if we raise our hand but won’t be likely to call on us if we don’t know the answer.”

“You’re so smart,” Momo says as she moves over a few seats. “You’ll make Blue rank in no time at all.”

Suddenly there’s a clatter from the empty front of the room and both girls jump, barely managing not to scream. The smartboard slides to one side of the wall, revealing a hollow opening, and a boy in a yellow jacket crawls out of the hole.

This time, Momo can’t hold back a shriek. The boy jumps and looks up.

“Oh,” he says, sounding surprised. “You two are early.”

Momo grabs Sayaka’s hand and squeezes. Sayaka’s heart is in her throat—who is this guy?!

The boy brushes off his jacket. “Sorry to surprise you like that. I was just making sure everything is okay back there.”

“Oh,” Sayaka says faintly. “Are you…are you good with technology?”

The boy reaches into the hollow space and pulls out a backpack, then he slides the smartboard back into place. “Something like that,” he says. He removes a tiny satellite from his bag, points it around the room, and then puts it back in his bag. He jogs up the stairs towards the two of them, and Momo grips Sayaka’s hand tighter.

The boy reaches into his pocket. “Here, take these,” he says, handing Sayaka two gold stickers. “Put them on your phones.”

Sayaka takes the stickers—they seem harmless enough. “What for?” She asks.

The boy leans close (Momo leans away) and whispers, “It’ll keep them from being able to hack your phone.”

Sayaka gasps. “Hack our phones?! Who wants to do that?!”

The boy’s eyes widen. “Kaiba Corp, man!” he says conspiratorially. “That company owns everything on this island, it _pays_ for everything on this island! The smartboards, the computers, the security system! They’ve got all kinds of cameras and microphones hidden in the hallways and on the grounds. I hear they bugged the dorms until some bigwig’s kid came here and put up a fuss about privacy. But they don’t care, they want data! They want to know what we know so they can stay ahead of us.” The boy taps his finger against his temple. “But I’m on to them. Stay aware of your surroundings, little first years.”

And with that, the boy jogs up the rest of the stairs and out of the classroom.

For a while, Momo and Sayaka sit in silence. Sayaka can’t feel her fingers anymore, they’ve gone numb with how hard Momo is squeezing her hand.

“Do you think that’s true?” Momo asks after a while.

Sayaka gently twists her hand out of Momo’s grip. “I doubt it,” she says, wincing as she flexes her fingers. “But just in case…” she hands Momo one of the stickers and puts the other one on the back of her own phone.

As the day goes on, Sayaka sees several wide-eyed first year students with gold stickers on the backs of their phones. During dinner at her dorm, a third year student sees the sticker and sighs.

“I see you ran into Daisuke,” she says, rolling her eyes. “That kid is the reason the Red and Blue dorms call us robots. He’s overly paranoid about everything, Kaiba Corp isn’t spying on us. I don’t know why he goes here, honestly, except to bring his fearmongering about Kaiba Corp.” The girl pats Sayaka’s shoulder. “You’re honestly fine, I’m in my third year and the only spying I’ve experienced is my roommate going through my drawer to find out what brand of perfume I use.” She chuckles. “The sticker is harmless but take everything Daisuke tells you with a grain of salt.” She holds out her hand. “I’m Emi, class representative.”

Sayaka feels a bit silly for having believed Daisuke for the entire day, but she vows not to get swept away by silliness again. “Sayaka,” she responds, shaking Emi’s hand.

Emi turns serious. “What you really should be worried about on this island is liminal spaces.”

“What now?” Sayaka asks, confused as all get out.

“Liminal spaces,” Emi repeats. “They’re places where time gets all funny, and this island is lousy with them! Haven’t you heard about all the crazy stuff that happened here over the last few years? I was there for them and let me tell you, shit got downright crazy! There’s this spot, where Yuki Judai and a bunch of other students got sucked into an alternate dimension—”

“You’re messing with me,” Sayaka accuses.

“I’m serious!” Emi insists, wide-eyed. “I was there! It was my first year, it was all over the news!”

“Only the local news!” A familiar voice calls. Daisuke comes running over and loops his arm over Emi’s shoulders. “Kaiba Corp blocked it from the mainland.”

“Oh get out of here with your conspiracy theories,” Emi says dismissively, elbowing Daisuke in the ribs. “The liminal spaces are real,” she says as Daisuke slinks off.

“Where are they?” Sayaka asks, her heart starting to race.

“Nowhere on school grounds,” Emi says soothingly. “They’re in the woods. That’s the thing, no one knows exactly where Yuki Judai and his friends were when they went back to the alternate dimension, but there’s supposedly this burn mark in the grass where it happened and nothing ever grows there. Other liminal spaces are the abandoned dorm, don’t ever go there at night, and also the island’s central power center, all the Obelisk students stay away from it because it’s haunted by Jinzo and three of their classmates nearly got killed by that mother—”

“Is that true?” Sayaka asks skeptically. She’s beginning to suspect she’s being taken for a ride.

Emi beckons over another third year. “Hey Haruna, where are the liminal spaces?”

“The power station and the abandoned dorm,” Haruna answers, dead serious. “Among other places. If you wander into them, you get sucked into a ripple in time and space and miss all your final exams.”

“And who haunts the power station?” Emi asks.

“Jinzo,” Haruna says. “My cousin was one of the students who nearly died by trying to summon him with dark magic.”

“Yeah, stay out of the woods in general,” Emi says. “It’s wild out there. There’s also a monkey who lives there and supposedly knows how to duel.”

“That’s not true,” Haruna says.

“It is!” A second year boy suddenly yells. “The duel monkey is real, he stole my Watapon!”

Haruna yells back, “Yeah, and he sucked my dick, too!”

All the students burst out laughing. Sayaka’s head is spinning from all that she’s been told, and when she goes back to her room for the night she rips the golden sticker off her phone. The older students are almost certainly pulling her leg. But just in case…maybe she’ll stay out of the woods.


	2. Hurricane

Sayaka gets that the whole point of making all three dorms gender-inclusive was to make things fair for all students, but she curses the fact that she arrived at Duel Academy AFTER the fact. Momo gets to live it up in a private room in Obelisk blue, and Sayaka gets to share a dorm with a girl who snores and takes a whole hour to brush her teeth.

“Aren’t you going to floss?” her roommate, Ayame, asked when Sayaka came out of the bathroom after a short three minutes. Well, no, not now that it was nearly midnight and she was dead on her feet, thank you very much.

The clock on the table between the two beds shows that it’s now 12:23. Sayaka turns towards the wall and presses her pillow over her head, but she can still hear Ayame’s snores. If she aces her midterms, she could get bumped up to Obelisk blue. Assuming she doesn’t end up dropping to Slifer Red when her grades plummet due to lack of sleep.

Sayaka’s phone buzzes and she grabs it, ready to go off on whoever is texting her at this hour, until she sees that it’s from Momo.

**‘U Awake?’**

**‘I am now,’** Sayaka responds.

**‘Good! Come outside, I’m here, I have something to show you.’**

Sayaka sits up and looks out her window. She’s on the third floor, but she can see the shadow of someone standing under the big pine tree, phone glowing in their hand. The person jumps up and down and waves, and Sayaka rolls her eyes. Momo would, of course she would.

Sayaka pulls on her dorm jacket over her PJs and puts on flip flops, hustling out of the dorm without bothering to be sneaky. Ayame’s snores will drown out any sound she makes. She takes the stairs two at a time and bursts out of the building.

Momo bounds over and grabs Sayaka’s hand. “You’re certainly fast for someone who just woke up,” she teases.

“You try sleeping through those snores,” Sayaka fires back. “So, where are we going?”

Momo’s eyes light up and she smirks. “You’ll see.”

Sayaka knows what that smirk means. “Please tell me it’s not in the woods,” she says nervously, the warnings of liminal spaces fresh in her mind. She hasn’t mentioned them to Momo yet.

 “No,” Momo says, “It’s in the main building. Come on!” She tugs Sayaka along at a fast pace to the building.

“What if we get caught?” Sayaka asks even as she hurries to keep pace with Momo’s long strides.

“Well, we won’t be the only ones!” Momo says cheerfully.

After a brisk jog the two of them make it to the main building’s front doors, where five Obelisk blue students are huddled. One of them holds a large bag.

“Ready?” One girl asks, jingling a set of keys.

“Ready,” Momo says.

“What’s going on?” Sayaka asks.

No one answers. The girl unlocks the door, and everyone slips inside. Momo pulls Sayaka in behind her.

“Reports say there’s a big storm heading this way,” Momo whispers as the group make their way down the dark halls.

Sayaka gulps. She had been told when registering that storms were a problem for the school, being located on an island in the middle of the ocean, and there was a procedure for truly big storms.

“Are we sheltering here?” Sayaka asks. There should have been an alarm if that was the case, and they definitely wouldn’t be sneaking around.

“Nope,” Momo whispers. “We’re doing a protection ceremony.”

Sayaka would have stopped and turned around if Momo didn’t still have a hold of her hand. Was there no end to the nonsense at this school?

The older students lead Sayaka and Momo to the awards room, a place neither of them has gone to yet. The room is full of cabinets that hold gleaming trophies and plaques awarded to the students of the academy. They bypass many cabinets and stop at a plaque mounted to a wall. The older students start unpacking the bag, and Sayaka illuminates the plaque with her phone to read the inscription.

“This Award is Presented to Jun Manjome in Recognition of his Victory in The First Genex Tournament.”

“And Jun Manjome had a catchphrase,” one of the girls says.

Sayaka looks down. The Obelisk students have spread candles and incense over the floor beneath the plaque, as well as, oddly enough, an Ojama Yellow card.

The Obelisk students grin at each other. “Ichi…jū…hyaku…sen!” The all stand up and point towards the ceiling, and in barely-hushed tones they finish, “Manjōme-sandā!” Before collapsing in giggles.

Sayaka glances side-eyed at Momo. These are the academy’s top students?

One of the girls gets a hold of herself and gestures for Sayaka and Momo to sit, which they do, and she explains, “Manjome-san was a bit of an arrogant guy. He got better as he got older, but his catch phrase stayed. He always corrected people about his name—‘Manjome-san da!’ he would say. When he met a bunch of foreigners, they thought that he was saying ‘Manjoume-thunder.’ So that’s what he became, Manjome-thunder.”

A boy adds, “Legend says that when he got really, really angry, it would actually cause thunder to echo through the island.”

The girl continues, “During our first year at this school there was a huge storm heading straight for the island. One of the third year Obelisk students took a candle to this plaque and…well, I guess she kind of prayed. ‘Majome-thunder, if it pleases you, please curb your power…’ blah, blah, something like that. Anyway the storm completely missed the island! We still got wind and rain but we lived. So now every time a storm approaches, you have to pray to Manjome-thunder.”

Sayaka is beginning to see a pattern here. It’s like how students in North America tell stories to young kids about schools having secret pools, or back on the mainland there’s one bathroom stall that you should never go into because a girl hung herself in it. It’s normal school lore, but being on an island, totally isolated from everyone but each other, the stories take on new depth and become part of the society.

That or being so isolated is causing everyone to go mad as a hatter.

The candles and incense are lit, and everyone is seated. They all join hands, Sayaka because she’s too creeped out to leave Momo alone and go back to her dorm by herself, and one of the Obelisk students begins a most dramatic recitation.

“Oh Manjome-thunder, we have gathered together on this night to beseech you, esteemed student of this fine academy, which you attended and left your exalted mark upon. If it is good for us, spare our island and our academy from the upcoming storm. Your reputation echoes through these halls, your name remembered by generations of students who have come after you, who controlled the very thunder with your moods. Keep our island safe, we beg!”

The older students abruptly release each other’s hands, and point to the ceiling. They chant,

“Ichi, jū …!”

Momo raises her hand, “Hyaku, sen!”

 _‘Oh, what the heck,’_ Sayaka thinks to herself as she raises her hand and joins the others as they cry, “Manjōme-sandā!”

Momo giggles, as does one of the older girls. The candles are extinguished, but the incense is left burning.

“Even if it does nothing,” one boy says to Sayaka as they leave the awards room, “It makes us feel better to know that someone did it.”

Sayaka can kind of understand that, now that she’s kind of convinced that these students don’t take the ritual seriously at all.

“Hey Yellow, what’s your name?” The girl who recited the chant asks.

“Sayaka.”

“I’m Rena, Student Council President. And as President, I declare the Yellow dorm is too far of a walk for you to make tonight. Come back to the Blue dorm with us.”

Sayaka stares at Rena wide-eyed. “Is it really okay? I don’t want to get anyone into trouble.”

Rena snorts. “Manjome-thunder himself used to live in the Red dorm when he was a Blue student, and he wasn’t the only one. If anyone gives you the stink eye in the morning, tell them you were part of the thunder team and they’ll leave you alone.”

Momo grins and loops her arm through Sayaka’s. “Yay, sleepover!” She cheers. “Now you won’t have to listen to your roommate snore all night.”

“Ugh, the worst,” One of the boys says. “You can request a new roommate, you know.”

“I can?” Sayaka asks.

“I was a Yellow my first year, my roommate snored too. I’ll walk you through the process in the morning.”

Sayaka grins. “Wow, thanks a lot!”

The students may have their moments of strangeness, but overall Sayaka thinks they’re pretty harmless.

 

The storm comes, and classes are cancelled and everyone is told to stay in their dorms, but no major damage is suffered.


	3. Ghost

Sayaka’s new roommate is no substitute for her best friend, but Akemi doesn’t snore and doesn’t take an hour to brush her teeth, so already Sayaka gets along with her better than she did with Ayame.

Akemi isn’t the strongest duelist, but Sayaka figures out that it’s because she’s not very outgoing. She’s impossibly smart, she even studies duel physics on her own, which Sayaka once tried to understand and couldn’t get her head around.

“So where do you want to go after graduation?” Sayaka asks Akemi one night. Sayaka is sprawled on her bed, Akemi is at her desk.

“Probably to work with Dr. Eisenstein,” she answers as she scribbles formulas in her notebook. “Apparently a student from Duel Academy once worked with him a few years ago.”

“Oh? Which student?”

Akemi looks up from her notebook. “I have no idea,” she says thoughtfully. She gives herself a little shake. “What about you? Going to go pro?”

Sayaka shrugs. “Haven’t decided. I like dueling, I just don’t know if I’m good enough for the pros.”

“I saw your duel yesterday in practical,” Akemi says. “You were good. How come you pulled Yellow rank?”

“Tanked the written,” Sayaka says. “Test anxiety. I’m going to flunk tomorrow, too.”

“Ah,” Akemi says with an understanding nod. “Know how to get rid of it?”

“How?”

Akemi grins. “Do something totally crazy, so tests seem like a piece of cake.”

Sayaka arches an eyebrow. “And what kind of crazy thing could be done?”

“Go to the abandoned dorm?” Akemi suggests.

“That’s a liminal space,” Sayaka answers automatically. “I want to pass my tests, not miss them.”

“Liminal space?” Akemi echoes, her eyes lighting up. “Ooh, I’ve got to go there!”

And she dashes out of the room, snatching her bag up along the way. Sayaka groans. She may have just gotten her roommate vanished. Fantastic. She throws her arms out dramatically and accidentally whacks her knuckles harder than she intended against the wall next to her bed. She glares at the wall and freezes. Some paint has chipped away, and she can see where something has been written on the wall under the paint. She slowly scratches at the spot, and a formula much like the one Akemi was just working on reveals itself.

The door to the dorm opens and Sayaka jumps. Akemi is back, and Momo is with her.

“Forgot my camera,” Akemi says. “And I found your friend.”

“Wait, Akemi!” Sayaka cries, holding out her hand. “Look what I found on the wall!”

Momo and Akemi crowd onto Sayaka’s bed and peer at the writing on the wall.

“A math formula?” Momo asks.

“A duel physics formula!” Akemi says. She pulls at another paint chip, and another formula is uncovered. She gasps, “Sayaka, we’re in the ghosts’ room!”

“The what?!” Momo yelps, leaping off the bed and looking around frantically.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Sayaka says automatically.

“There’s a ghost in this dorm!” Akemi continues as if neither of them have spoken. “A former student who never came back from the alternate dimension. He was super smart and rumored to have written out duel physics theories all over his room. This must have been his room!”

Momo lets out a shriek. “Where’s the ghost?!”

“He doesn’t take a physical form,” Akemi says. “But, if you take a candle into a bathroom at midnight, turn around three times and say ‘show me the ghost,’ he’ll appear in the mirror.”

“Hang on, that’s—” Sayaka says, but Akemi cuts her off.

“You should do it, Sayaka! It’ll clear your test anxiety right up!”

Sayaka’s not sure about that one, but she’s not afraid of ghosts, so she figures she’ll give it a try. First, she needs a candle.

Momo joins Akemi and Sayaka as they go their dorm RA’s room. Yuko asks what they need a candle for, and when Akemi says they’re going to contact the ghost, Yuko beckons them in and flips open a sketchbook.

“I saw him last year,” she says, “And it was a quick look, but I drew him.”

She shows them a sketch of a boy with a strong jaw, a hairline that frames his face in the shape of an ‘M,’ and a high nose. The sketch is black and white, save for his eyes, which are colored blue-grey.

“I couldn’t get the shade of his eyes quite right,” Yuko says, sounding disappointed.

“Was he scary?” Momo asks, hiding behind Sayaka as if the drawing will come to life.

“No,” Yuko says. “I only saw him for a minute.”

The three of them take the candle and a few matches back to Sayaka and Akemi’s room. It’s several hours until midnight, so Akemi suggests going to get dinner. Momo joins them, trying to talk Sayaka out of the “ghost-summoning ritual,” but Sayaka is convinced that nothing will happen, so she’s got nothing to lose by giving it a shot, if only to prove that weird things may happen at this school, but ghosts aren’t one of them.

 

At midnight, Akemi and Momo wait with their ears pressed to the bathroom door. Sayaka stands in the bathroom alone, and lights the candle. She turns off the light, and the bathroom is lit by a gentle glow. She closes her eyes, then realizes that she’ll have no way of knowing when she’s done a full circle with her eyes closed, so she opens them again. She turns around three times, then whispers, “Show me the ghost.” She stares into the mirror, heart racing despite her conviction that nothing will happen. A second turns into three, then ten, and she exhales slowly, her heart slowing.

Then she blinks, and suddenly the reflection in the mirror isn’t her own. A boy stares back at her, his hair disheveled and his yellow jacket dirty. He looks confused for a second, then he smiles. Sayaka feels her jaw drop. The boy in the mirror laughs, Sayaka blinks, and it’s her own reflection staring back at her.

Sayaka rubs her eyes. She leans close to the mirror, she even knocks on it, but it’s an ordinary mirror. There’s no camera in the bathroom, no projector, no explanation for what she just saw.

“Is the ghost there?!” Akemi yells.

Sayaka jumps, takes a deep breath, and opens the door. Akemi and Momo jump back, staring at her wide-eyed.

“No,” Sayaka says confidently. “There wasn’t a ghost.”

Akemi looks disappointed, Momo looks relieved.

Sayaka continues, “But there was a boy in the mirror.”

“WHAT?!” Momo shrieks.

“It worked!” Akemi crows.

“He wasn’t a ghost,” Sayaka insists, “It was like…like he was in the mirror. Or on the other side of it. He wasn’t in the room with me, that’s for sure.”

Akemi starts talking about parallel dimensions and how the mirror might be a portal, Momo looks ready to faint, and Sayaka is lost in her own thoughts. She wonders who that boy was. If he is a ghost, it means he’s dead, and he looked too young to die. But he also looked…happy? She only saw him for a few seconds, but he sure didn’t look like a tormented soul.

Momo ends up staying the night, but Sayaka knows she doesn’t sleep—they share a bed, and Sayaka doesn’t sleep either. They don’t talk about what happened, maybe they never will.

Oddly enough, the incident does cure Sayaka of her test anxiety. She’s so busy thinking about the boy in the mirror that she just doesn’t think twice about the answers she puts on her test paper, and when she gets the results, she’s shocked at her own improvement. She didn’t spend all her time second guessing herself, and it turns out that her first answers were the right ones.

“Told you it would work,” Akemi says as Sayaka stares in shock at her grade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess who the "ghost" is?


	4. Monkey

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Sayaka asks, clinging so tight to Momo’s arm, Momo feels pins and needles in her hand.

“This is the way Rena told me to go,” Momo confirms.

“How can you be sure? This all looks the same to me!”

Momo smirks. “You don’t believe in ghosts, even now you barely believe in duel spirits, but liminal spaces send you into a tizzy. And people say that you’re the sensible one between the two of us!”

Sayaka glares half-heartedly. “Emi says that if you get sucked into one, you miss your finals and I have worked too hard and faced too many weird things to miss any test!”

Momo rolls her eyes and looks down at her compass. They’re still going north, and according to her step counter, they’ve walked one kilometer. “It shouldn’t be much farther,” she says.

Sayaka grits her teeth. “You said that twenty minutes ago.”

“Quit whining,” Mom says, “Do something constructive, like memorize your deck.”

Sayaka smirks at her. _“Yuuhi no—”_

Momo lets out a shriek that echoes around the forest. “YOU SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!”

Sayaka sings over Momo’s insistent screams, _“O-YAMA NI! TERU TERU MOMIJI!!”_

Momo leaps onto Sayaka’s back and the two of them screech at each other like pterodactyls for a few minutes until they get their collective act together and get back to their search.

They enter a dense patch of forest and Momo keeps her eyes on the compass to make sure that they’re going the right way. She doesn’t realize that Sayaka has gone back to looking around worriedly, nor does she register Sayaka’s gasp of surprise. She does feel Sayaka tug her to a halt, and she turns to ask her friend what the problem is now, only to nearly get her eye poked out by Sayaka’s finger.

“M-monkey,” Sayaka stammers, pointing ahead.

Momo looks back and feels her jaw drop. There is, indeed, a monkey in front of them. It’s crouched on the ground, looking quite as taken aback as Momo feels.

“I wonder if it’s the duel monkey!” Momo gasps. She kneels down. “Hey there, buddy!”

“What are you doing?!” Sayaka gasps, “Wild monkeys are dangerous!”

“But if it’s the monkey I think it is, he’s really smart,” Mom says, batting Sayaka’s hands away from her shoulders. She holds her hand out toward the monkey. “My name is Momo.” The monkey inches forward, looking at the pair of them curiously. Eventually it gets close enough to sniff Momo’s hand, and then it takes it and they shake hands.

“How polite!” Momo coos.

“That’s unsanitary,” Sayaka says weakly.

The monkey lets go of her hand and points at her waist, chattering. Momo realizes that it’s pointing at her deck holder, and she takes out her cards and holds them out to the monkey.

“Want to see?” She asks. Sayaka squeaks in shock and probably horror.

The monkey takes the cards and looks through them, examining each one and handling them carefully before handing them back to Momo.

“I knew it,” Momo whispers, “You are him!” She smiles. “I wonder if you can help us. We’re looking for a well where duelists throw weak cards away.”

The monkey seems to give her an affronted look, and Momo quickly says, “We don’t want to throw our cards away, we want to collect the cards and take them back to Duel Academy with us.”

The monkey’s expression changes and he hops about, chattering. When he calms down, he stands on his hind legs and holds his hand out to Momo. She takes it, and the monkey leads her along.

“Come on!” Momo calls over her shoulder as Sayaka shows no sign of moving.

Sayaka jogs along after and says in a quiet voice, “Please don’t lead us to any liminal spaces, Mr. Monkey.”

The monkey leads them through the forest, eventually Momo sees low stone walls rising out of the ground, and the monkey points towards it, chattering. He stays back as Momo approaches. The air seems colder, and she could swear that she can hear voices coming from the stones. She peers over the edge of the wall and into pitch blackness. She shines her phone light into the dark, and sure enough, she can see some cards below.

Momo hisses. Apparently the rumors were true, and Manjoume-thunder using low-attack cards to school his own brothers wasn’t enough to convince some duelists not to dump cards down this old well. She balances on the edge of the wall, and as Sayaka yells for her to be careful, she drops down into the pit. It’s a short fall to soft earth, and it’s even colder now. Momo scoops the nearest card into her hands, a Puchi Tenshi. She brushes her fingers over the dirty card.

“Don’t worry,” Momo whispers, “I’m getting you out of here.”

“Look out below!” Sayaka hollers, and Momo moves aside as her friend drops into the pit.

“Hey, you came down after all!” Momo chirps.

Sayaka stands, brushing dirt off her skirt. “Well I can’t very well let you gather all these cards yourself. Also, I dropped the rope ladder down. You know, in case you were wondering how to get out of here.”

Momo looks up. She forgot all about that as she was jumping. “You really are the sensible one,” she says.

Sayaka’s cheeks look pink and she grumbles, “Let’s get these cards.”

It takes an hour to gather all the cards together, mostly because Momo is determined not to leave a single one behind. With each card she gathers, she feels like the well gets a little warmer, and a sense of calm envelops her.

Once the cards have been tucked safely into Momo’s bag, Sayaka tells her to climb the ladder first.

“Don’t look up my skirt,” Momo teases, and Sayaka blushes again, making a show of covering her eyes.

Momo is surprised to see the monkey waiting a few feet from the well. He chatters excitedly when Momo hoists herself over the wall and hops over. Momo helps Sayaka over the wall, then takes the cards out of her bag.

“Want to see?” She asks the monkey.

He takes the cards and looks through them with the same reverence he looked at Momo’s cards with, then to Momo’s surprise her shuffles them and gestures for Momo to do the same with her own deck.

“Do you want to duel?” Momo asks.

The monkey chatters at her, setting the cards down and picking five off the top.

“I don’t believe it,” Sayaka says faintly.

Momo laughs and shuffles her own deck. “You are on!”

The monkey is a pretty good duelist. Momo wins, but she suspects it’s because the monkey is a little out of practice. When he loses, the monkey makes a show of bowing to Momo.

“Do you want to keep them?” Momo asks as the monkey gathers the cards. He shakes his head and gestures to the surrounding forest.

“I guess they would be rather exposed to the elements,” Momo agrees, taking the cards back. She takes a piece of paper out of her backpack and writes a note, reminding duelists that all cards are valuable to a true duelist. She leaves the note on the edge of the wall, pinned in place by a heavy rock. Whether it will deter people remains to be seen.

“I’ll come here every few months,” she decides, “And make sure to collect any cards that may be here.”

The monkey takes Momo’s hand and shakes it again, and he holds his hand out to Sayaka as well. She hesitates a moment, but shakes his hand as well.

“Aw, I’m proud of you,” Momo tells her teasingly.

Sayaka sighs. “I’m going to write a book about all the weird things that happen on this darn island. A survival guide, if you will. Lord knows people are going to need it once this generation of seniors graduate.”

“Why these seniors specifically?” Momo asks as they head back to campus.

“Because they’re the last people to have gone here with Yuki Judai,” Sayaka answers. “I just know that all this nonsense is his fault.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Sayaka sings to torment Momo is from Fruits Basket, it's Momiji's song.


	5. Guide

Winter break has arrived in the blink of an eye, and it finds Sayaka, Momo, and Akemi—all for different reasons that they don’t discuss—staying at Duel Academy for the holiday. During the first few days, the three of them kind of dance around their new-found freedom. The dorms are emptier, the RAs and Class Representatives are gone, but the dorms aren’t totally deserted, and they don’t want to cross anyone by being where they’re not supposed to be.

The trio wander the empty hallways of the school, have practice duels on the fields, and sit in the communal cafeteria as long as they possibly can. On the third day, they pass a third-year Obelisk girl on their way back from the practice field, and she stops them.

“You guys know you can all hang out in the same dorm over break, right?” She asks.

The three of them exchange looks. “Is it really okay?” Momo asks.

The girl nods. “I mean, when everyone’s here you want to try to stay in your own dorms, but over break nobody really cares. Half the students are too stoned to care.”

The trio ignore that last remark, thank the girl, and head straight for Momo’s room. Sayaka and Akemi return to their dorms only to get clothes and toiletries, and in Sayaka’s case, a package.

“I didn’t think the mail service delivered out here over break,” Akemi says as she digs into a bag of chips.

“They don’t,” Sayaka says, “I got this the day before break, but I wanted to show you guys.” She opens the box and takes out an elegant, red leather-bound book.

“Whoa,” Momo says, stopping mid-way in her reach for the chip bag. “It’s gorgeous! Please tell me you didn’t get that for homework.”

“Nope,” Sayaka says, “It’s going to be a guide to surviving this whacky school.”

“That’s clever,” Akemi says, wiping her hands off on a napkin. “So like, you’re going to write about all the legends?”

“Legends, lore, stories, and personal experiences,” Sayaka says. “Before I start writing in the book, I’m going to brainstorm and make up a list on my computer.” She puts the book away and grabs her laptop. “So, let’s talk this out. You guys are helping me.”

“Of course,” Mom laughs. “So, the storm ritual will go in.”

“Totally,” Sayaka says. “And the warnings about liminal spaces.”

“Stay out of the woods,” Akemi says ominously, “You could die, and worse, miss your finals!” She snorts and starts giggling.

“What about the card well?” Momo asks as she elbows Akemi. “It could encourage more people to dump their cards.”

“True,” Sayaka agrees, “But it might also inspire students to retrieve the cards.”

Akemi calms down and suggests, “Then make a note that every card is useful. Even if you didn’t write about it, if a duelist really has no respect for their cards, nothing will stop them from discarding weak ones.”

The girls sigh simultaneously, and Sayaka types it all up.

“What about the ghost?” Momo asks.

“He’s totally going in,” Sayaka says, “But I’m calling him a spirit; ghost is too…it makes him sound creepy, and he’s not.”

“What is your deal with him, anyway?” Akemi asks. “Every time we mention him you get all…scrunchie.”

“Excuse me?” Sayaka asks.

“She’s right,” Momo says. “Like…your forehead gets wrinkled.”

“And you’re so defensive of him,” Akemi adds. “Do you have a crush on him?”

Momo snorts and Sayaka grins.

“I should hope not,” Sayaka says, “Considering I’m about a straight as a spring.”

Akemi shrugs. “Okay, so not a crush. Does he remind you of someone?”

“No. I don’t know what it is about him,” Sayaka admits, “I guess I just…empathize with him?” but that’s not the right way to describe it either. She really, really wants to know who he is. But she changes the subject. “What else should go in this thing?”

“The inter-dorm relationships,” Akemi says. “Like, we totally could have avoided all the wandering around this damn school in the cold if we had known that nobody cares about divisions between dorms over breaks.”

“Amen,” Sayaka says. “Should I include the weed market?”

Even though they ignored it when they were told about the students being stoned, the fact is they haven’t been able to ignore the smell, or the jokes about being ‘high as the top of the volcano.’

“Totally,” Akemi says.

“And it can be a growing thing,” Momo says, and she grabs the book and flips through the pages. “You don’t have to go in any kind of order in this thing, and it is pretty big, so it should be able to fit everything we learn over the three years we’re here.”

“Ugh,” Akemi groans, flopping back on the bed. “Can you believe we have three more years of this nonsense to deal with?”

“I hope this book is big enough for all that,” Sayaka says. “Considering all that’s happened so far, if we keep going at this rate…”

“Oh, don’t even curse us by thinking it!” Momo cries.

Akemi asks, “Can we ever really be as bad as the past years, though?”

“KNOCK ON WOOD!” Momo shrieks, flinging herself across Akemi’s lap, to the other side of the bed, nearly sending Sayaka’s laptop to the floor as she slams her fist against her bedside table. “Ouch,” she whimpers, rubbing her knuckles.

“This bed is made of wood,” Akemi says crossly as she stares at her crushed bag of chips. “You could have leaned over the side of the bed you were on and knocked on the frame.”

Momo pouts. “I never claimed I was the sensible one!”

Sayaka types up a note in her document.

_‘When you find a friend in this school, hold on to them. They’ll be by your side through all this crazy nonsense, and trust me, you’ll be glad to have someone with you.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be two special people appearing in the next chapter!


	6. Return

The day classes resume after winter break, the majority of the students seem oddly energized. It’s a feeling Sayaka can’t relate to, having saved all her homework for the previous night. She’s totally exhausted, and she misses out on the rumors that spread through the school like wildfire.

At lunch, Akemi comes bounding over to the table she now shares with Sayaka and Momo, and pounces on the two of them with an excited gleam in her eyes. “Guess what I heard?!”

“Is it about changing the menu?” Momo grumbles, poking her soggy pasta with her fork.

“Better,” Akemi says, “We’re getting a new teacher!”

“And?” Momo asks.

“You don’t understand,” Akemi says in a barely restrained voice, grabbing Momo’s shoulders, “It’s a former student! Someone who was there when all the crazy stuff went down!”

That does pique Sayaka and Momo’s interests, but before they can ask Akemi for more details, the door to the cafeteria bangs open and a girl in an Osiris Red jacket struts in.

“What’s up, Duel Academy?!” The girl hollers.

The second and third year students let out a roar of excitement and run to the girl.

“Who is she?” Sayaka asks.

Momo’s jaw drops. “It’s Saotome Rei! She’s a third year, and she’s a Pro duelist!”

Sayaka looks at the girl with new respect. A student and a Pro? That’s not an easy thing to manage.

But Rei’s appearance means the cafeteria gets very, very loud—too loud to ask Akemi any more about the new teacher. But they don’t need to ask Akemi, because in their next class, they meet their new teacher.

She’s standing at the front of the room with Chronos-sensei, and Chronos looks happier than Sayaka has seen him since she started school. Frankly, it scares her a little.

Once the students are all seated, Chronos-sensei introduces the girl next to him. “Students, I would like you to meet Tenjoin Asuka! A star pupil of this esteemed academy, she’s returned to share her talents and knowledge with all of you, _no-ne!”_

Tenjoin Asuka…the name does ring a bell…

_Wait a minute._

“Tenjoin Fubuki!” Momo whispers, seizing Sayaka’s arm. “He’s her brother! We saw them!”

The Tenjoin siblings had been a Pro-team for a very, very brief period of time, and Momo got tickets to one of their duels. Fubuki had signed autographs and posed for pictures after the duel, but Asuka didn’t. she had joked in an interview after resigning from Pro-duels that she quit so she didn’t end up in jail for homicide, but said seriously that the spotlight wasn’t her thing, and she and her brother made better siblings than dueling teammates.

Asuka bows slightly to the students. “I’m still in college, so I’m only an assistant teacher, and while I wasn’t a pro-duelist for long, I hope I can put my experience to good use here. I look forward to working with all of you.”

“Don’t be so modest, _no-ne!”_ Chronos-sensei urges, but he’s interrupted when a gaggle of third years burst into the room shouting “ASUKA NEE-CHAN!”

Asuka ends up leaving the classroom surrounded by the third years, leaving a very flustered Chronos-sensei to try to regain some control of the class, who have all pulled out their phones and are watching some of Asuka’s old duels.

“You really saw her duel?” Akemi asks, leaning over to address Sayaka and Momo.

Momo nods. “She’s a great duelist, but you could so tell she was uncomfortable during the duel. I read somewhere that she mostly did it for her brother because it was his dream to be a dueling duo with her.”

Akemi gets a twinkle in her eye. “Fubuki is part of the school lore, you know. They say he went missing for almost two years.”

“That would explain why Asuka would become a Pro for him,” Sayaka says. She can only imagine how much Asuka would have missed her brother, she would probably do anything for him.

“And Asuka went to the other world, both times,” Akemi adds. “I bet she knows where the liminal spaces are. We should totally ask her.”

“We can’t do that!” Momo yelps, “She’s a teacher! What if she thinks we’re being rude? Or worse, what if she thinks we’re nuts?!”

Sayaka knows that Momo adores Asuka as a duelist, she even modeled her own deck after Asuka’s, and if Momo ever came face-to-face with her, she’d probably end up stammering her way through asking for an autograph before the words “liminal spaces” ever crossed her lips.

Chronos-sensei never manages to reign in the class, he ends up throwing his hands in the air and letting the students talk for the rest of the period.

 

It’s not until the end of the day, when the three of them are hanging out in Sayaka and Akemi’s shared room, that the trio find out what Asuka will be teaching.

“Etiquette?” Sayaka echoes, disappointed.

“And she’ll assist in practical dueling,” Akemi says.

Momo whines, “Great, we’ll hardly ever see her! She’ll probably help the older students.”

They don’t start etiquette until next year, and since Asuka still is a student herself, she probably won’t have time to assist in all the practical dueling classes. It is pretty disappointing.

“But she’s staying in the Blue dorm, isn’t she?” Sayaka asks.

Momo nods. “Yeah, but I bet she’ll have her own friends to hang out with. You saw how popular she was among the older students.”

Sayaka pats Momo’s back. “Well, we’ll be older students soon. By the time we’re third years, maybe Asuka will be a full-time teacher. Maybe she’ll teach pro duelist studies!”

Momo brightens. “Oh, I never thought of it that way!” She nudges Sayaka’s arm. “You really are the sensible one.”

Before Sayaka can respond, Momo’s phone starts beeping. She looks at the screen and her eyes widen.

“It’s from Rena,” she says. “The Principal wants to see me in his office right away.”

Akemi and Sayaka stare at her wide-eyed. “What for?”

“It doesn’t say,” Momo says, her tone worried. “You guys have to come with me! What if I’m being expelled?!”

“Why would they expel you?” Sayaka asks.

“Maybe I send too much time here,” Momo says, glancing around the room. “Do you think someone complained?”

“I’m sure that’s not it,” Akemi says firmly. “But if it is, we’ll defend you. Or, Sayaka will, in case I get tongue tied.”

The three of them set off, Momo clinging to Sayaka’s hand so hard that Sayaka quickly loses feeling in her fingers. By the time they get to the main building and are ready to walk into the principal’s office, Momo’s knees are shaking and she looks ready to pass out.

“Maybe it’s good news,” Sayaka whispers as Akemi knocks.

“Come in,” the Principal calls.

The trio enter, and panic turns to confusion as they see who has gathered in the office. Aside from Chancellor Samejima, Chronos-sensei, Rena, Rei, and Asuka are present.

Momo grips Sayaka’s hand so tightly that Sayaka feels her bones crack and she flinches.

“I believe you were asked to come alone, _no-ne,”_ Chronos-sensei sniffs.

“Actually I didn’t say that,” Rena says, winking in Sayaka and Akemi’s direction.

“It’s fine, Chronos,” Samejima says. “The poor girl looks ready to pass out. Have a seat, Ms. Ariyoshi.”

Sayaka guides Momo to one of the two chairs in front of Samejima’s desk, and once Momo is seated, Sayaka tries to massage some feeling back into her hand.

Rei plops down in the other chair. “What’s up, Momo?”

Asuka whacks Rei on the shoulder. “Don’t throw yourself into a chair like that! Have I taught you nothing?!”

“What?” Rei whines, “I’m not anywhere fancy right now.”

“You’re setting a bad example for the students present!” Asuka scolds. She sighs and looks at Samejima and Chronos. “This is another reason we can’t have her as a representative of the school, she’s so rude.”

Rei sticks her tongue out at Asuka, then turns to Samejima. “It just wouldn’t be fair to my opponent. I’m a Pro, I’ve had experiences that an ordinary student wouldn’t have had. Besides, it’s been tradition for years to have first year students compete in the duel.”

Rena adds, “And Momo is the top duelist in the first year class. She would be an excellent candidate.”

“I’m sorry,” Momo says, “Candidate for what, exactly?”

Samejima smiles. “Every year, our school hosts a duel with North Academy. Nothing serious, it’s an exhibition match to show the strengths of the schools, and the best student from each academy is chosen for the duel. Rei is the top student of the school, but she has turned down the chance to compete.”

“And,” Rena adds, “As she said, it’s tradition for a first year to participate. So, we would like to ask you, Momo—would you like to participate in the duel?”

Momo heaves a sigh of relief and smiles. “An exhibition duel? Of course I would!”

Rei claps her hands. “Then it’s decided!”

Samejima reaches across the desk to shake Momo’s hand. “Congratulations, Ms. Ariyoshi. You have one week to prepare.”


	7. Prize

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK!!!!! I've finally got my laptop back HALLELUJAH

Sayaka sighs and rubs her forehead. “Akemi, can’t you take a turn? I know it’s just practice, but I don’t like getting my butt handed to me constantly.”

“You’re better than me, though,” Akemi says.

Sayaka whirls on her. “I’m literally using your deck!”

“And I am taking notes,” Akemi says solemnly.

Momo shuffles her deck. “Let’s try one of the practice decks now,” she says. Asuka gave her several practice decks to use in preparation for her match against North Academy’s representative.

Sayaka glances at the clock. “I think it would be better for you to rest now. You know what they say about studying too hard the night before a test.”

“I agree,” Akemi says. “You’re amazing, one more practice duel won’t change that.”

Momo looks at her own deck anxiously. “Oh, I guess you’re right.”

Sayaka slumps back in relief and stretches her arms over her head. “What’s even the point of this, anyway?” she asks, trying to hold back a yawn. “Do you get something if you win? Like, a guaranteed ‘A’ on the next test?”

Momo frowns. “Nobody said anything about a reward.”

“I guess the reward is for the school,” Akemi says. “You know, bragging rights and all that.”

“Lame,” Sayaka says.

Momo gets to her feet. “I’m going to go to the trophy room.”

“What? Why?” Sayaka asks.

“There’s a plaque for Judai in there,” Momo explains, “Maybe if I light incense in front of it, I’ll have good luck tomorrow!” And she grabs her deck and runs out the door.

“Should we follow her?” Akemi asks.

Sayaka shakes her head. “Nah, I’ll just text Rena, she’ll go talk some sense into that girl.”

 

Sayaka is there when Momo meets the representative of North Academy. She watches from a distance as Momo shakes hands with a boy who looks like he could snap her in half with his bare hands.

“What do they feed those boys?” Sayaka wonders as she looks over a crowd of high school boys built like tanks.

“North Academy is very far north,” Akemi whispers, “Surrounded by snow and ice. They probably eat a lot of meat.”

“I was being rhetorical,” Sayaka says.

Akemi blushes. “Oh. Well, now you know.”

Indeed, she does know. And she doesn’t appreciate the way the boy glances at Momo’s ass when she turns around.

“By the way,” Akemi says as the students file into the duel arena, “I found out that there is a prize for the winner of the duel.”

“Oh? What is it?” Sayaka asks.

“A kiss,” Akemi answers.

Sayaka misses the chair she was about to sit in, and she lands hard on the floor. Akemi stares at her like she’s lost her mind, but Sayaka doesn’t care. She feels the blood drain from her face and she staggers to her feet.

“Who?” She manages to spit out.

“Um, I’m not sure?” Akemi says timidly.

Sayaka’s not sure if she’s going to throw up or vault onto the duel field and tackle Momo right off of it. She falls into her chair, landing in it this time, and cradles her head in her hands.

“Save me, Judai,” she moans.

“Dang, never thought I’d hear you say that phrase,” Akemi says.

Sayaka’s heart is in her mouth and butterflies have taken up residence in her stomach. Is Momo going to be kissed by her opponent? Oh god, Sayaka thinks she would actually faint. But Momo would never allow that cretin to kiss her. So who wins the honor of kissing Momo? Does Momo get to choose someone to kiss her? Like a celebrity or something? Is it a kiss on the cheek or like, a full-on kiss?

“Do you have any nail left?” Akemi asks as Sayaka gnaws on her pinky nail.

Sayaka can’t answer—the boy Momo is dueling smirks at her and is clearly staring at her boobs.

“I hope she kicks his ass into last week,” Sayaka snarls. “Then I’ll kiss her myself.”

“Oh my god!” Akemi screams.

Sayaka jumps, the surrounding students turn to stare, and even Momo looks over. Sayaka realizes what she just said and quickly leaps to her feet.

“YOU GOT THIS, MOMO!” She screams, clapping and jumping up and down so as to disguise what just happened. Momo and the other students go back to the duel, but Akemi gapes at Sayaka.

“Did you just—?” Akemi asks.

Sayaka desperately shushes her. “I said nothing of the sort!”

“You should, though!” Akemi says. “You guys would be so cute together!”

Sayaka’s face feels like it’s on fire and she wishes a hole would open up in the ground and swallow her so she won’t have to answer that. It seems like the kind of thing that could happen on this crazy island, and it would be a heck of a lot easier than having to think about the one thing she’s tried not to think about for the past three years, since she realized she liked girls a lot more than she ever liked boys.

Momo slices her opponent’s life points in half, and Sayaka thinks about how Momo has never shown interest in boys, aside from celebrities.

Momo activates a trap card to deflect an attack, and Sayaka thinks about how Momo has never put a name to her sexuality.

Momo’s face radiates confidence and happiness, and Sayaka thinks that sometimes, Momo looks at her with that kind of happiness as well.

And then, there’s a glimmer in Momo’s eyes—a glimmer that Sayaka knows very well. She’s already vaulting over the seats in front of her before Momo even attacks. She’s sprinting to the stage before Momo’s opponent’s life points finish hitting zero, and by the time the rest of the stadium starts cheering, Sayaka is already hugging her best friend and congratulating her on her win.

“I knew you could do it,” Sayaka says as her heart races.

Momo laughs. “I had a moment where I thought I couldn’t,” she whispers, “But I knew you believed in me.”

Sayaka feels like her face is on fire. She catches Akemi staring at her, open mouthed, and wonders if she should just do it.

“Well done!” Principal Samejima says, and Sayaka pulls away from her friend.

Samejima shakes Momo’s hand, and looks across the field to the other principal. “And now,” Samejima says, looking smug, “The prize. A kiss from Tome-san.”

Sayaka feels her jaw drop. “Whaaaaa?” The card shop owner, that’s who gives the winning kiss?

Tome-san saunters on to the stage and kisses Sakejima’s cheek while the other school’s principal falls to his knees in despair.

“Maybe next year!” Samejima laughs.

Sayaka looks at Akemi, who shrugs, then winks and blows a kiss.

But Sayaka isn’t going to kiss Momo now; that would be way too cheesy.

 

The blue dorm throws a party to celebrate Momo’s victory, and Akemi and Sayaka both join the festivities. There’s a table full of food, casual duels, card-trading, and lots of people who congratulate Momo on her victory. It’s a full two hours before Momo escapes on to a balcony with Akemi and Sayaka to catch some fresh air.

“Could this place be any more ostentatious?” Akemi asks as she looks down the building, where more balconies stick out from the huge doors. “It’s the most obvious show of extra-ness since the volcano.”

“It’s a Kaiba property,” Momo says with a shrug. “And it’s an incentive to do well in your classes.”

“It’s kind of romantic though,” Sayaka says, and she immediately blushes.

Akemi grins, then yawns. “Well if no one minds, I’m going to leave this party and go to bed.”

Momo hugs her. “See you later!”

Sayaka can’t even form a response before Akemi darts away. “Gee, she left in a hurry,” Sayaka says awkwardly.

Momo grins. “Probably so you wouldn’t freak out when I tell you that she filled me in on what the next entry in the guide will be about.”

“What will it be about?” Sayaka asks, confused. She didn’t have any plans for another entry.

Momo giggles. “That the prize for winning the school duel goes to the Principal.”

Sayaka’s blush deepens. “Oh.” She flounders for something to say. “How did Akemi have time to tell you that?” She finally asks.

“She texted me,” Momo says. “And for the record, even if I could have won a kiss, I wouldn’t have accepted it.”

“No?” Sayaka asks.

“No,” Momo echoes, “Because we should really talk about something like that before making it known to the whole school.”

It takes a moment for Sayaka to grasp the implication of those words; long enough that Momo starts teasing her.

“Here I thought you were the sensible one!” She laughs when Sayaka finally gets it. She takes Sayaka’s hand and squeezes gently. “Akemi told me how you freaked out when you heard the prize was a kiss. I think that’s really sweet, just so you know.”

“Do you?” Sayaka squeaks.

Momo nods, her cheeks pink. “She also said that you said you’d kiss me yourself if I won. So, where is my prize?”

Sayaka clears her throat. “Maybe we should…talk about that first?”

“Of course,” Momo says quickly.

Then Sayaka leans over and gives Momo a quick peck on the cheek. “I can’t just leave you with nothing, though,” she says.

Momo’s smile is blindingly bright.


	8. Legendary

“Are you sure you two are even dating?” Akemi asks.

Sayaka and Momo look up from their homework in confusion. “Uh, pretty sure?” Momo says.

Akemi looks at them incredulously. “You don’t do any gross couple-stuff, though!”

“We hold hands all the time,” Sayaka says.

“And we go on dates,” Momo adds.

“You mean lunch in the cafeteria every day?” Akemi scoffs. “That’s not a date. And you held hands all the time before you started dating.”

“Well, we’re on an island,” Sayaka says, gesturing at their surroundings. “Kind of hard to date on an island.”

“Especially when the woods is full of liminal spaces,” Momo says.

“And dueling monkeys,” Sayaka says.

“Spiders,” Momo says.

“Fire ants!” Sayaka counters.

“Bears,” Akemi adds, smiling.

Sayaka picks that up and runs with it. “And axe murderers and ghosts and chimeras and volcanoes, oh gorgonzola!”

The three of them burst into giggles. The student lounge is mostly deserted, it’s a nice day and the majority of students have chosen to study outside, but due to Akemi’s allergies, the three of them have elected to stay inside.

“That’s really not nice, though,” Momo says, trying to be serious. “We shouldn’t make fun of Chronos-sensei like that.”

“I heard him use the word ‘pasta’ as an ending particle the other day,” Sayaka says.

Akemi shudders. “Oh, my freaking god.”

“Okay, maybe we can tease a little bit,” Momo concedes.

Akemi gasps. “You know what we should put in the guide book?!” She leans forward, her eyes sparkling with mirth and whispers, “We should put that Chronos-sensei isn’t even Italian.”

Momo and Sayaka gasp, clapping their hands over their mouths.

“But it’s not true,” Sayaka says.

“It’s also probably not true that the forest is full of liminal spaces,” Akemi says. “That’s what most legends are—lies.”

“But sometimes they have truth,” Momo says. “The duel monkey is real, but I seriously doubt he’s sucked anyone’s dick.”

“But let’s be real,” Akemi says, “How many Italians have you met who actually say the phrase ‘Mamma Mia’ that frequently? And Mario doesn’t count.”

“What about Mario?” Someone asks.

The three of them jump and lean away from each other. Rei grins at them, a book in her hands. “Sorry, didn’t mean to surprise you,” she says. “You guys looked pretty serious for a minute there. What’s up?”

Sayaka glances at her friends, who nod. Rei has been here longer, if there’s any dirt on Chronos-sensei to be heard of…

“You know how Chronos-sensei is always spouting random Italian?” Sayaka asks, “We were just saying we’ve never heard Italian people speak like that, so we were wondering, you know, is he really Italian?”

Rei bursts into giggles. “Oh boy, like is he faking it?”

“Have you heard if he is?” Momo asks excitedly.

“I’m pretty sure he isn't faking it, actually,” Rei tells them. “But that wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’ve heard about him.”

“What else have you heard?” Akemi asks.

Rei counts off on her fingers, “That he wears a wig, that he’s a robot, that he has a wife who lives in Paris, that he hated Judai Yuki at first…that last one is true.”

“Wait, what?” Akemi asks. “I thought everyone loved Judai.”

Rei sits down and sighs. “Not everyone. He had…has, rather, his fair share of enemies. He beat Chronos-sensei in his admission duel, pretty soundly I might add, and he was a really bad student, so Chronos was sore about that for some time.”

“He was a bad student?” Momo gasps, “But he did so much during his time at the school! He’s got all those awards, he’s a legend!”

“Yeah, but he’s not book smart,” Rei says. “He slept through all his classes, and he was a pretty bad influence on other students. On the other hand, he was also a good influence, because he proved that it doesn’t matter what color your jacket is, you can make a mark on this school. He broke down a lot of the tension and rivalry between the dorms.” She frowns. “I think he wouldn’t like what most of the students say about him. He never thought of himself as a hero, in fact for a time, he was afraid of what he was capable of. He went through periods of self-doubt and depression just like everyone else.”

“He really was an ordinary guy,” Momo says thoughtfully.

“Well, he does have something that made him extraordinary,” Rei says with a smile. “He has this magnetic personality. It’s true, not everyone likes him even to this day, but some of his closest friends now are people who started off not liking him very much, and whose hearts he reached out to and touched. That’s something that not everyone can do, but Judai…he just brings out the best in everyone.”

She’s got an almost dreamy look on her face as she speaks.

“Did you have a crush on him?” Sayaka blurts.

Rei laughs. “Of course! Nearly everyone with an attraction to boys did, or still does. But Judai has only ever had eyes for one person.”

“Who?” Momo asks.

Rei looks surprised. “Surely by now you three must have heard of Johan Anderson?”

Sayaka’s jaw drops. “Wait, they’re really dating?!”

“Dating,” Rei scoffs. “They’re practically married, they have been from almost the moment they met!”

Akemi slams her first on the table. “That is so going in the book!” She shrieks.

“What book?” Rei asks.

“Metaphorical!” Sayaka says quickly, “You know, the metaphorical book.” That makes no sense, but they haven’t made their writing of the survival guide public yet.

Rei smiles and stands. “Well, I’ve distracted you all from your homework for long enough.”

“Hang on a second,” Momo says, “Do you know if the woods really are full of liminal spaces?”

Rei’s face takes on a serious look. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true. I don’t even go in the woods anymore.”

As Rei leaves, the three of them exchange nervous glances.

“Right then!” Momo says, “No picnic dates.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aside from the big things (the school disappearing, the white dorm, the sacred beasts, the darkness), what lore should make its way into The Guide? Leave me suggestions in the comments section!
> 
> Also the 'pasta' thing is true. It happened in episode 41 (Japanese version)


	9. Hot

Sayaka is sort of obsessed with the guide, to the point that she refuses to allow herself to plan entries for it on weekdays, so she actually gets some studying and homework done during the school week. Akemi and Momo are obsessed too, and it’s not just the idea of writing the guide that they’re drawn to, it’s the stories behind everything that will go into it. Just like how Judai wasn’t the superhero everyone talked him up to be, they all start wondering about the truth behind some of the lore and traditions on the island.

“Why do we compare everything to the volcano?” Sayaka asks as she sits in Momo’s window seat, looking outside. It’s raining, and the volcano is obscured by thick clouds, but she can’t stop thinking about how Rei said the chili in the cafeteria was ‘spicier than the volcano’.

“Because it’s a volcano?” Akemi suggests. “How many schools have one of those in their backyard?”

“I suppose,” Sayaka says. “It’s just…I have a feeling someone had to start it, you know?”

“You’re the hottest thing here since the volcano,” Momo says, from her seat at her desk. Akemi and Sayaka both turn to look at her. She grins, “That’s what started it.”

“How do you know?” Sayaka asks.

Momo stands and beckons the two of them to follow. She leads them to the women’s locker room outside the baths, and to a large mirror in front of the sinks. She gestures to it with a flourish. “Ta-da!”

Scrawled at the top of the mirror is a message in sharpie. _‘You are the hottest thing on this island since the volcano.’_

In the corner of the mirror is a message in smaller handwriting, _‘Who said that?’_

Then the response, _‘Tenjoin Fubuki said it to me. Isn’t it inspirational?’_

Sayaka and Akemi break into laughter, and Momo joins them. They laugh so hard that they end up doubled over on the floor of the bathroom, tears streaming down their faces.

“Of course Fubiki-san said it,” Akemi pants as she struggles to catch her breath.

Momo scoots over to Sayaka and leans in to her face. “You are the hottest…” she stops as she starts giggling again, slumping over with her head on Sayaka’s shoulder. Sayaka pats Momo’s back, and she hiccups, causing further giggles.

“This school is full of mad people,” Akemi says.

“Oh, are we included?” Sayaka asks.

Akemi gestures to the room at large. “We’re in tears from laughter on a bathroom floor. Of course we are.”

It sends the three of them into laughter again, and it takes even longer for them to calm down—each time they catch each other’s eye, they start laughing all over again.

Eventually the three of them finally do calm down, but they continue to sit so they can get their breath back. Akemi crawls over to Sayaka and Momo, and they sit shoulder-to-shoulder.

“I hope we stay friends forever,” Momo suddenly says. “The three of us.”

Sayaka hums in agreement.

“Well, about that,” Akemi says hesitantly, “I gotta tell you something.”

Sayaka and Momo shoot upright. “You’re not leaving, are you?” Sayaka asks.

“No, no,” Akemi says, waving her hand. “Nothing like that.”

Sayaka and Momo sigh in relief and lean back again.

Akemi continues, “I don’t think I want to be promoted to Obelisk blue.”

“What? Why not?” Momo asks, confused.

“Nothing against it, really,” Akemi says, “I just…I want to study duel physics, you both know that, and that’s a very demanding thing, and mostly a study thing versus practical. I’m not a good practical duelist, and my attention would need to be on my written work. As long as I’m in the yellow dorm, people won’t expect too much of me. If I’m in the blue dorm, well, I’ll have that much more on my shoulders, you know? I just don’t think I’m good enough for it. I’d rather stay where I am forever, rather than get promoted and then be demoted because I couldn’t keep up.”

After a moment of silence, Momo nods. “Yeah, I follow your logic. It makes sense.”

“It sucks though,” Sayaka blurts. “I mean, you’re the best student here. You always get top scores, in everything but dueling! If anyone deserves to be an Obelisk, it’s you.”

Akemi bites her lip. “Yeah…sometimes I…I flub my duels on purpose.”

Both Sayaka and Momo’s jaws drop. “You what?!” They cry.

“Not every time,” Akemi says quickly. “Just every now and then, to keep my grades low. Like I said, I’m not a good duelist, and if I get good and people expect stuff of me…I just could never handle being demoted. I would be so humiliated.” She clasps her hands in front of her. “Promise me you won’t say anything!”

Momo swears she won’t, but Sayaka frowns for a moment, silent, before grudgingly agreeing.

“I hate this system,” Sayaka grumbles. “I’m not even mad at you, or blaming you, Akemi, I just…ugh.” She puts her head in her hands. “Curse these colors.” She knows she’s going to be promoted to Obelisk blue by the end of the year, and Akemi will still be a Ra. She looks up again. “Are you going to be okay? You’ll be in the Yellow dorm without us.”

“Of course,” Akemi says. “Plenty of people keep their friends across dorm colors. Didn’t we learn that from Judai?”

“I guess,” Sayaka says. She knows that at the end of the year, she’ll be promoted to the Blue dorm. “I’ll miss being your roommate.”

Akemi scoffs, “You say that like I’m not going to sneak into your room every weekend.”

Momo strikes a dramatic pose. “Romeo, Romeo, why the fuck is you a Blue, Romeo?”

Perhaps it’s the relief of getting all this off their chests, perhaps it’s the late hour, or perhaps it’s just honestly that funny, but the three of them collapse in hysterical laughter once more. They don’t leave the locker room until Rena comes in and kicks them out.

“Your laughter is echoing and it’s scaring the other first years,” she says as she shoos them off.


	10. Phantom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter references Episode 15 of GX as well as chapter 4 of this story.

Momo is going to kill whoever decided that tennis should be part of the gym curriculum. Okay, maybe not kill, but she’s going to sue the pants off of them.

“Are you okay?” Sayaka asks.

Momo squints at her. She can see Sayaka, but behind Sayaka she can also see a boy she doesn’t recognize…dueling Yuki Judai? Oh, her head is spinning.

“Easy now,” says Asuka, while at the same time she mumbles that the two boys on the practice field are being stupid.

Asuka helps Momo to her feet, and Momo staggers to the side. She hears people calling her name, and calling out to Judai as an attack lands.

Momo places her hands over her ears. “Quit shouting,” she pleads, “My head hurts.”

“He gets carried away too easily,” Asuka sighs.

“We better get her to the nurses’ office,” Asuka says.

Momo whimpers. She keeps her eyes shut as she’s hustled off to the nurses’ office, supported by Asuka and Sayaka. On the way, Momo keeps hearing snippets of utterly bewildering conversations. People call out names that she’s never heard before, talk about events that she doesn’t remember happening, and she can swear that she hears people talking about a White Dorm.

An ice pack and some painkillers make Momo’s head stop throbbing, and if she lays down then the room doesn’t spin, but every time she opens her eyes she sees shadows flitting around in her peripheral vision.

“That could be a sign of a concussion,” Ms. Ayukawa, the school nurse, tells her. “I’m actually tempted to send you to the mainland for further observation.”

“How would she get there?” Sayaka asks.

“Helicopter,” Ms. Ayukawa answers.

Momo groans and throws her arm over her eyes. “Oh god, anything but that, my head is already spinning, can’t I just stay here for a while?”

Ms. Ayukawa frowns. “It’s not a good idea to play around with head injuries.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Asuka says.

“I’m young,” Momo insists, “I’ll bounce back. Look, I’ll stay here, in bed, I’ll set an alarm to wake up every two hours, if I don’t get better you can chopper me out to a hospital.”

Ms. Ayukawa sighs, but agrees to it. Asuka excuses Sayaka from gym to sit with Momo and keep an eye on her. Momo keeps her eyes closed, and listens for the sound of footsteps retreating.

“So whose ball hit me?” Momo asks as she and Sayaka are left alone.

“I didn’t see,” Sayaka says. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I don’t know,” Momo mutters. “I was hearing and seeing things for a while there…can you text Akemi and ask her to come here? I’ve got questions about…” She struggles to describe it. Time? Space? “…Stuff,” she finally says.

Sayaka chuckles. “Wanna save it for when your head isn’t spinning?”

Momo hums. “Possibly.”

Sayaka takes hold of Momo’s hand—the one not covering her eyes—and traces gentle spirals over her palm. Momo drifts in and out of consciousness, never really falling asleep, she’s too stressed for that, but she’s certainly soothed by Sayaka’s presence. After the last bell sounds for the day, Akemi comes by to see how Momo is doing, and she asks Momo and Sayaka if they want to hand over their homework, so Akemi can complete it for them. They both protest, but Akemi kidnaps their backpacks and runs out.

“That girl,” Sayaka sighs.

“I’m buying her shoes,” Momo decides.

Hours tick by. Ms. Ayukawa checks Momo’s reflexes and shines a light in her eyes to check pupil dilation every few hours. Momo never keeps her eyes open for very long, complaining that the room is spinning still and making her nauseous. As night falls, Sayaka convinces Ms. Ayukawa to let her stay the night. She lays out in the bed next to Momo’s and eventually falls asleep. As Momo listens to the even breathing coming from Sayaka’s bed, she finally opens her eyes.

Finally, the thing she’s been avoiding all day is right in front of her. A Puchi Tenshi, a Petit Angel monster, is fluttering above her head.

Momo reaches for her deck, on the table beside her bed, and goes through the cards for her own Angel. She looks between the card and the monster over her head. Yes, this is the same Angel that’s on her card, she can tell because the monster over her head has a mark on its right wing, matching a scratch on the card.

“Am I hallucinating?” Momo wonders aloud.

The Angel above her head lets out a sound that’s half-growl, half-purr, and descends to rub against her face. Okay, Momo thinks as she reaches up and comes in contact with something faint, like the brush of a feather against skin, but definitely _there._

Not a hallucination? Momo reaches for her phone to look up if concussions can make people imagine that they’re feeling things, but the light from her phone screen sends stabbing pain through her head.

The monster lets out the same sound from before and settles on the bed next to Momo.

Could it be…she’s really seeing a duel spirit? Momo has heard that such things can happen, it’s been whispered about in all the duel schools she’s ever attended, but she’s never seen them before. She gets conked on the head and suddenly she can see them? This is why she needs to talk to Akemi, there must be a logical explanation for this.

She looks at the monster that’s now nestled under her elbow. She hopes she’s not hallucinating, this thing is quite adorable.

 

In the morning, Momo’s head is feeling much better, and the monster is still there. Ms. Ayukawa deems Momo safe from brain damage and free from a trip to the mainland. Momo is released from the nurses’ office, and she and Sayaka head straight to the yellow dorm, and Akemi and Sayaka’s shared room.

“I have something to tell you,” Momo says as she enters the room.

“Glad you’re feeling better,” Akemi says.

“And I’ll pay you back for the homework thing,” Momo adds, “But I’m seeing a duel spirit.”

Akemi’s jaw drops.

“What?!” Sayaka yelps.

Momo nods. “A Puchi Tenshi, it’s floating by my shoulder right now.”

Sayaka gapes at her. “Since when?!”

“Since I got hit on the head.” Momo turns to Akemi. “I also saw weird things immediately after I got his on the head in the gym. Asuka, Yuki Judai, and some other student. They were dueling.”

“Residual haunting!” Akemi cries.

“Ghosts?!” Sayaka asks.

“No, no,” Akemi says, “Like, events in the past that are entrenched in the history of a place, so they playback over and over. Like if a person paced a room a lot, sometimes people hear footsteps even if no one is walking. It’s been proposed that time isn’t linear, you know.”

“And the bump on the head made me see that?” Momo asks.

Akemi shrugs. “Head trauma can do many things to people.” She grins. “Including making them aware of duel spirits. You’ve always been sensitive to them, you know.”

“I have?!” Momo asks.

“You have,” Sayaka agrees. “You’re always more in tune with your deck, and with mistreated and misused cards. Just look at how much you’ve improved since adding those discarded monsters to your deck. Wasn’t Puchi Tenshi one of them?”

“The first one I grabbed,” Momo says. She looks at the monster floating next to her. “I guess I’m not crazy.”

“I can try to build some kind of energy monitor,” Akemi says, “See if I can detect some kind of signature from it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do!”

“Sounds cool!” Momo says. She holds out her hand and the Angel floats down to nuzzle her palm. “It’s cute,” she says, smiling.

“You’re cute,” Sayaka says, her cheeks pink.

Akemi gags. “Ugh, get out of her with your flirting.”

“You said we didn’t flirt enough,” Sayaka whines.

Momo giggles and continues to play with her monster friend as Akemi and Sayaka bicker. She’s going to call the monster Peach.


	11. Ordinary

It takes a few days for Akemi to build an electromagnetic field reader, during which time, Momo’s life becomes just a bit more complicated. By the time the trio gather in Akemi and Sayaka’s shared room for the test, Momo is dying for an answer. Is Peach really floating next to her head, or is she imagining it?

“No doubt about it,” Akemi says in wonder, “There’s something next to your head right now.”

 “You mean you actually doubted me?” Momo jokes.

Sayaka and Akemi frantically shake their heads, and Momo lets them carry on telling her that they believed her 100% for a few minutes. She’s glad for this proof. She does feel very fondly about Peach, but she was wondering if she had completely lost it after that knock on the head.

Because now, it’s not just Peach that she’s seeing—she sees duel spirits everywhere. They lurk in the hallways of the school, walking on the ceiling and zipping through walls and doors. They trail behind students, gazing at them with stars in their eyes. Sometimes tricky spirits bounce around on people’s heads in class. The world seems a lot busier to Momo now, and Akemi’s electromagnetic reader has proven that Momo is seeing something real. And if Peach is real, the other spirits must be as well. She’s relieved, but she’s also more bewildered than ever.

“How am I only just now seeing them, though?” she wonders.

Sayaka answers, “Well like we said, you’ve always been sensitive to cards’ spirits. Maybe that bump knocked something into place.”

“Or something loose,” Momo mutters. She sighs. “Okay guys, this has to stay between us. I don’t want it getting out that I can see duel spirits.”

“Why not?” Akemi asks. “If you don’t mind me asking, Judai and Johan could see them, Manjoume too, so it’s not like it’s unheard of.”

Momo takes a seat on the edge of Sayaka’s bed and puts her head in her hands. “I know, it’s just…it’s why I didn’t want to go to the mainland hospital in the first place. Inevitably word will get back to my mom and dad.”

Sayaka glance at Akemi, who looks at her wide-eyed. They’ve been friends for almost a year, but they never discuss parents.

“I’m lucky, in so many ways,” Momo says quietly. “My parents are wonderful. I’m rich, my parents own a company, but when they saw I had no interest in their business, they didn’t try to force me into a career where I would inherit their legacy. They let me pursue whatever dream I wanted, and they made sure I had the best of everything for it. In a way…they almost fuss too much. They always want to know what they can do to help me be the best. I don’t know what they’ll do if they find out about the duel spirits. Well that’s a lie—first they’ll ask if the spirits help or distract me. When I say I don’t know, they’ll ask how I could not know. Then they’ll ask how this happened, and find out I didn’t tell them I got hit on the head.  Then they’ll start looking for experts. How did this happen? Why did it happen? Can it be stopped? Do we want it stopped? I know they want the best for me but god, I wish they would let me figure things out for myself sometimes.” She stops herself, out of breath by the end of her rant.

The three of them are quiet for a moment, then Akemi hesitantly whispers, “Gorgonzola.”

It breaks the tense atmosphere and the three of them laugh. For the umpteenth time in the months they’ve known each other, they end up in hysterics on the floor, clutching their sides as they laugh. It carries on for several minutes, and when they all catch their breath, Momo wipes tears of laughter from her eyes.

“Sorry for dumping that on you, Akemi,” Momo says. “Sayaka knows what my mom and dad are like. I do love them, it just gets overwhelming sometimes.”

“I get it,” Akemi says. “You’re not the only one who gets overwhelmed. I’m the youngest in my family. Did I tell you I have five older siblings?”

Momo and Sayaka gasp. “Five?!” They shout.

Akemi nods. “Yup. Mom and dad are…well, they wanted a lot of kids. I have two brothers and three sisters, and whatever I do, one of them has already done. Except duel physics.” She grins. “I’m the only one to do that.” Her smile fades. “Too bad none of them get it, or think it’s that useful. Like we didn’t discover freaking alternate universes because of what happened on this very island. Whatever, they leave me to my own devices and my nieces and nephews love me.”

“Nieces and nephews?” Momo cries, “You have multiples of each?!”

“Two nieces, three nephews,” Akemi says proudly. She takes her phone out of her pocket. “I don’t like to brag but they are adorable.”

For a while, Sayaka and Momo admire photos of Akemi’s family. Then Akemi turns to Sayaka and asks, “So, what about you? What’s your family like?”

Sayaka sighs, and she shrugs. “They work abroad. We’re not especially well-off, I spend most of my time with Momo and her family anyway.” She rolls her eyes. “They don’t necessarily approve of my sexual orientation, but they don’t try to change me. I think it would be a bigger deal if I was a boy, but I have an older brother and he’s totally ordinary.”

“Ugh,” Akemi says, wrinkling her nose. _“Ordinary.”_

Sayaka grins at her. “Yeah. Like, who needs ordinary?”

“Not us,” Momo says, reaching up to give Peach a pat.

“Definitely not us,” Sayaka agrees.


	12. Election

“What’s on your mind?” Momo asks. She’s got her head in Sayaka’s lap and she’s flipping through a magazine.

Sayaka combs her fingers through Momo’s hair. They’re alone in Momo’s room, so she speaks freely and says, “I’ve been thinking about what Akemi said a few weeks ago. About how she wants to stay a Ra student because she’s afraid she wouldn’t be able to live up to the expectations of an Obelisk student.”

Momo hums. “That was pretty messed up.”

“I want to change things,” Sayaka says, “But I’m not sure how.”

“Change doesn’t happen overnight,” Momo says. “We only have two years left in this place.” She puts the magazine aside, sits up and looks Sayaka in the eye. “What exactly do you want to change?”

Sayaka draws her legs up and rests her arms on her knees. “This school’s not just about dueling. We learn more, so our grades and dorm placement shouldn’t be so heavily dependent on dueling. Book smarts ought to have some weight, too. Maybe even…maybe even get practical dueling off the list of required classes in third year.”

Momo’s eyes widen. “That’s a lofty goal.”

“Maybe I won’t get it done,” Sayaka acknowledges, “But maybe I can set it in motion. Plant the seed, you know?”

“How are you going to start it, though?” Momo asks.

Sayaka reaches into her pocket and takes out a flyer. “Student council elections are coming up,” she says. “I was thinking of running for class rep.”

Momo gapes at her. “Wow, okay…that’s kind of a thankless job?”

“I know,” Sayaka admits. “But hey, it could also be good for the guide. Maybe I’ll be able to learn where the liminal spaces are once I’m in a position of power.”

At that, Momo lets out a hoot of laughter and falls backwards on the bed. “Alright,” she cackles, “That settles it, you need to go for it!” She grins up at Sayaka. “Can I be your campaign manager?”

Sayaka leans over her. “You’ll have to fight Akemi for it,” she says with a smile of her own.

Momo sits up slightly and gives Sayaka a kiss. “Girlfriends get first dibs,” she says.

 

 

When Sayaka tells Akemi about her plan, Akemi vows to help make election posters and help Sayaka with her homework if she gets elected. Sayaka puts her name down on the election form, and when the ballots are finalized a few days later, Sayaka finds herself in some odd company.

“Daisuke is running for student council president?!” She gasps as she stares at the list.

“Why?” Akemi asks.

“Keep your enemies close,” Says a voice from behind them, and the three of them scream and turn to find Daisuke lurking behind them.

“Creep!” Momo accuses.

Daisuke puts his hands up. “I was just coming to wish Sayaka good luck, you guys were the ones talking about me behind my back.”

“Yeah well, announce yourself!” Sayaka tells him.

“Well here I am,” Daisuke says, “Announcing myself and my candidacy. Closer I am to the top, closer I am to classified information.”

“I didn’t know you were involved in student council at all,” Sayaka says. “Don’t you have to be, to be in the running for president?”

“I was secretary this year,” Daisuke says. “You really need to pay attention.”

“Who voted for you?” Akemi teases.

“People like me,” Daisuke says with a wink. “I’m interesting.”

Rena walks over and slings her arm over Daisuke’s shoulders. “He won secretary by default,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Nobody else ran for the position.”

“Because they knew they couldn’t beat me!” Daisuke blusters, “Everyone knows who I am, they have only to hear my name to vote for me!”

Rena ignores him and holds her hand out to Sayaka. “Good luck,” she says, shaking her hand. “Remember, be honest in your speech.”

So for the next few days, Sayaka works on her speech and her friends make election posters. A few other students end up helping, including Ayame, her old roommate. Sayaka has a moment, the night before she gives her speech to the student body, where she looks around her room at all the people gathered for her, and is struck by how different things are in her life. When she arrived at Duel Academy, she was terrified of public speaking, had test anxiety, and didn’t approve of any nonsense. Now she’s running for student office, she’s getting ready to be promoted to Blue rank, and she devotes her spare time to chronicling the weirdness on this island. To top it all off, her best friend is now her girlfriend, and her roommate is her new best friend. She can’t believe how much she’s changed, yet she doesn’t feel different at all. Or rather, she doesn’t feel like she’s lost anything about herself.

 

 

On Speech Day, Sayaka steps in front of the podium in the auditorium, facing her fellow soon-to-be second years, and takes a deep breath.

“When I came to Duel Academy, I never thought it would change me as much as it has. This school, this island, this crazy bunch of students, has worked its way into my life and into my heart. And as much as this school has changed me, I would like to change it. We’re a new generation of students, and I would like to help all of you leave a mark on this school. Starting with our colors. When I look at all of you, I see your jackets, but I don’t let that affect how I see your talent. We’ve all heard about Yuki Judai, the Red-ranked student whose name is God here. That’s a lesson in first impressions, and it’s a lesson I’ve found holds as true as anything I’ve learned in a classroom. While I can’t promise dramatic change overnight, I can promise that if you put your trust in me, I won’t let you down. I’ll represent all of you equally, no matter what your rank is or how high or low your grades are. I hope you’ll let me be a voice for all of us.”

Applause ringing in her ears, she sits with the other candidates. Her heart is pounding and her palms are sweating, but there’s a giddy feeling bubbling in her chest. She’s got a good feeling about this.

 

 

And when the results are announced the next morning at breakfast, Sayaka learns that her good feeling was spot-on. She’s won the election; next year she’ll be the representative for the second year students.


	13. Bon Voyage

Momo runs ahead, out the front door of the building, and once outside she spins around, head tilted toward the sky and her arms outstretched.

“FREEDOM!” She shouts. Other students exiting the building glance at her and giggle, but by now they know better than to stare—that’s just Momo being Momo.

“Drama queen,” Sayaka accuses, her smile softening the scolding tone in her voice. “You had a ball watching that.” They had just observed the ceremonial graduation duel, between Rena and Daisuke.

Momo stops spinning and grins at her. “Let me have my moment!”

Akemi makes her way out of the building. “I bet you anything she’s going to kiss the ground when we get back here, though.”

Sayaka whips out her phone and makes a note of it. “Akemi calls Momo kissing the ground,” she says as she types, and Momo careens into Sayaka, sending her phone tumbling to the ground.

“I would not!” Momo screeches.

“You would,” Akemi and Sayaka say together.

Momo releases Sayaka, pouting, and as Sayaka scoops her phone up she hears Momo whisper, “You’re the only one who respects me.”

“I bet Peach is secretly rolling his eyes,” Sayaka says.

“Oh, come on,” Momo whines, “Don’t turn my buddy against me!”

Sayaka finally notices the time as she glance at her phone screen and she gasps. “Guys, we’ve got to get a move on! The ship leaves in eighteen hours!!”

The three of them take off at once to their respective dorms. Sayaka and Akemi wave to Momo as she heads to the blue dorm, and race each other to their room in the yellow dorm. Their suitcases gape open, empty even though their belongings are strewn about the room. They had every intention of packing as soon as they finished their exams, but then they went back to the well to look for dumped cards, and they ran into the monkey again. Between dueling the monkey, working the new cards into their decks, and Momo talking to the spirits in the cards, they were distracted for several days. Now they have to deal with the side effects of their distraction—a years’ worth of crap that must be packed up before morning.

“How did you accumulate so much junk?!” Sayaka asks Akemi, eyeing her piles of plastic bags.

Akemi looks affronted. “Those are my assignments!”

“You keep them?!” Sayaka asks.

“Of course, I may need a refresher course before next year.”

Sayaka shakes her head. “I keep my notebooks and that’s it. I’ll probably never even look at them.”

“You may need them for summer assignments,” Akemi says.

Sayaka groans. “I don’t even want to think about those.”

“Do them in the first week,” Akemi advises, “Just get it over with, and enjoy the rest of the summer.”

Duel Academy follows a western school schedule, with school years starting in fall and ending at the start of summer. For students like Akemi and Sayaka, who didn’t attend Duel Academy prep, they had to wait several months after graduating middle school before starting their new year. They also will be out of school longer than other kids their age, so the later weeks will mean having malls and beaches to themselves.

Eager to change the subject from homework, Sayaka asks, “You excited for our trip?”

Akemi squeals. “I am the most excited! I’m already losing sleep over it, I’ve never been to a Disney park before! My nieces and nephews are so jealous, my siblings are giving me money to get them things and I’m going to do my Christmas shopping for them there, as well! I can’t wait to meet the princesses and go on the rides and see the shows!”

Sayaka grins and listens to Akemi chatter on. She’s been to Tokyo Disney before, but not the one in Florida—the huge theme park that Momo loves. Momo surprised Sayaka by booking a trip to the park during their last month of summer break, and she’s invited Akemi along for the all-expenses paid trip of a lifetime. Momo told Akemi it’s to thank her for doing their homework while she was knocked out, and for all her help during the year, and for being an awesome friend. Sayaka is used to Momo’s generosity, she’s been on many summer trips with her best friend, but this will be Akemi’s first time being exposed to it.

Sayaka finally interrupts Akemi’s starry-eyed, dreamy musings for the trip. “We won’t go anywhere if we don’t get off this island!”

Akemi snaps back to attention. “You’re right, you’re right! Okay, let’s go!”

They roll their clothes up tightly to save room in their suitcases. They shake out their sheets, dump drawers upside down, and check in every corner to make sure they don’t leave even a sock behind. Akemi finds an earring she thought she lost, and Sayaka finds some loose change in her dresser. They sort out the pile of makeup in the bathroom, where they take pictures of the spider-shaped mold spot on the ceiling that has always given them heart attacks in the night. Akemi can’t fit all her homework assignments into her suitcases, so Sayaka manages to squeeze the rest into her own. At 1 AM when they’re about to zip up their suitcases, Sayaka suddenly realizes that she has no idea where her phone charger is, leading to a frantic search and a rush to unpack in case it got buried under a shirt. Turns out that’s exactly what happened, and Sayaka finds the charger rolled up in her winter jacket for some bizarre reason.

It’s nearing 3 AM by the time they finally, finally zip their bags shut. Everything they need for the morning and the trip home is in their backpacks, everything else is safe and sound in their suitcases. As they put the locks on their suitcases, Akemi and Sayaka heave in-sync sighs of relief.

“I hope we’re better at this next year,” Akemi says as she drapes herself over her largest bag.

Sayaka leans against her bedframe, cradling her backpack like it’s a teddy bear, phone charger clutched in her hand. “I swear if I forgot anything, I’m just buying myself a new one. No digging frantically through my bag, no searching under mattresses, none of that. And next year I’m going to start mailing stuff home like, two weeks in advance.”

Akemi sits up, slack jawed. “Dude!! Why didn’t we think of that before?!”

“Because we were busy chasing duel spirits around?” Sayaka offers with a tired smile.

Akemi lays back down. “Yeah…yeah, that sounds about right.”

They fall silent, and despite being supremely uncomfortable in their awkward positions, they each drift off to sleep for a few hours.

 

Sayaka and Akemi's alarms go off a few hours later. They rise slowly, joints cracking and groaning from lying on the floor. They get dressed, washed and they pack up their remaining things. In the light of dawn they start dragging their bags out of their rooms, their fellow students equally bleary-eyed as they make their ways out of the dorms. Already, the ship that will take them to the mainland is docked at the shore, and porters are standing by to collect luggage and pack it away.

Akemi and Sayaka meet Momo and join the other students in the cafeteria, where Rena gives a tearful speech to the seniors about new beginnings, and to the underclassmen about keeping up the good work and taking care of the school. Even though Sayaka knows she’s coming back in three months, she holds tight to her bag with the guide in it and feels heavy hearted at the thought that she’s not going to wake up and come to the cafeteria every morning to eat with her classmates, and she won’t have a new duel partner every day, and she won’t make new discoveries about the Island for a few months. By the time Rena finishes talking, there’s not a dry eye in the cafeteria.

When it’s time to head to the ship, Momo, Sayaka, and Akemi walk arm in arm, dragging their feet because even though they’re excited for summer, it’s hitting them now that they don’t really want to leave.

“Let’s take a picture,” Sayaka says suddenly. “Have we taken one of the three of us together yet?”

“I think not,” Akemi says.

So they pose with the ocean and blue sky in the background, and they pose with the school in the background. They get a passing group of second-years (soon to be third years) to take more pictures with each of their phones. They flip through the pictures, making sure they look good, thank the students, and continue making their way to the ship.

“We should do that each year,” Sayaka says. “Take pictures together at the start and the end of the year. I mean we only have two years left, but still…”

“Yeah,” Momo agrees. “I like that idea.”

Suddenly there’s a screech of feedback and everyone in the vicinity yelps and covers their ears. Rena’s voice blares out over the ship’s PA system, “I know I gave a heart-wrenching speech and all that but _GUYS,_ I WANT TO GET MY SUMMER ON! NOW GET YOUR ASSES ON THIS BOAT IN 5 MINUTES OR I SWEAR TO **GOD** I’M LEAVING WITHOU—”

The threat cuts off with a sound of scuffling and a shriek, as if Rena is being wrenched away from the microphone, but the message is received and everyone makes a mad dash for the ship, laughing the whole way.

Akemi, Sayaka, and Momo squeeze through the crowd to stand by the top deck’s railing. The school staff, who leave later this week, stand onshore and wave to the students.

“Bon Voyage!” The staff yells.

“Bon Voyage!” The students yell back.

As the ship goes out to sea, the other students head down to lower decks to find a place to sit, or get something to eat, but not the trio of best friends, who continue to stand at the railing long after the island disappears from view. Sayaka’s in the middle, and her two best friends rest their heads on her shoulders as they stare out at the water.

“You two have my address, right?” Akemi asks.

“Yep,” Momo and Sayaka answer.

“Well write to me, will you? I never get mail.”

“Mail is so old fashioned,” Momo says. Sayaka elbows her in the ribs.

“I’ll write,” Sayaka promises. “And I’ll make sure she does, too.”

Momo massages her ribs with a pout. “Okay, okay, I’ll get some cute stationary and write at least once.”

“A week,” Sayaka says. “Once a week.”

“Oh, come on!” Momo whines, “Between that and homework? I’ll email, it’ll be faster and my hand won’t fall off!”

Sayaka and Momo start bickering, Akemi rolls her eyes and listens with half an ear. They’re still at it when the ship docks on the mainland, when they finally stop. The trio has to separate now. Akemi will take a bus to her hometown, but Momo and Sayaka need to get on a plane.

“Let’s not say goodbye,” Akemi says. “After all, we’ll see each other again soon.”

“Right,” Sayaka says.

“Let’s not even hug,” Akemi continues firmly. “I’ll hug you when I see you again.” She holds up her hands. “High five!”

Sayaka and Momo laugh, and they each give her a high five. They wave, and head off on their separate ways.

“Bon Voyage!” Akemi calls.

“Bon Voyage!” Sayaka and Momo call back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is not the end of the story!! I’m just not sure if I’ll update next week. Normally I like to have a few chapters written before I post the next one, but lately I haven’t had much of a chance to write, plus this chapter was kind of hard to get through. I’m going to write the kids’ summer trip to Disney world, because I am a HUGE Disney world fan and I think it would be cute, and after that I want to get a few back-to-school chapters underway. So we’ll see how much I get done in a week.


	14. Chill

Sayaka spends a solid week in her own house. Her parents are actually home, they ask her about school and are impressed when they find out that she’s going to be class rep next year. She unpacks her things, does a mountain of laundry, and tries to get at least some of her summer homework done. One night older cousin comes over for dinner and yammers on about his job while Sayaka texts Momo under the table. After three days at home Sayaka is bored out of her mind, but Momo has a plan to remedy that. On the last night that Sayaka’s parents are home before they go abroad again, Momo has invited them to her house for dinner. There, the two of them will come clean about their relationship. It certainly puts a fire in Sayaka’s heart, something to keep her going. She doesn’t think her parents will be kicking her out of the house over this, but she keeps a bag packed in case things get intense afterwards.

When the night arrives, Sayaka and her parents head to Momo’s family house. ‘House’ being an understatement, it’s a mansion. Their parents are on good terms, and even though it’s Momo and Sayaka who have been at school for a year, Momo’s older brother, Masaru, is the center of attention because of his promotion at work. For the first hour of the night the adults and Masaru talk about business. Finally, Momo has had enough and she taps her fork against her glass.

“I would like to make an announcement,” she says, standing up. She glances down at Sayaka. “Or rather, we would.”

Sayaka gets the hint and stands as well.

Momo grins at their parents. “Sayaka and I started dating while we were at school. We’re a couple now, and we would like to ask your blessings for our relationship.”

Sayaka’s parents look at her with wide-eyes, and Momo’s mother lets out a squeal and claps her hands.

“Oh, darlings!” She cries, “How lovely!”

Momo’s father beams. “Congratulations,” he says, “I can only imagine how happy you two must be.”

“Quite,” Sayaka’s mom says. “You two have always been close.”

Momo’s mother stands and kisses both girls on the cheek. “This calls for a toast!” she says, turning to one of the staff members. “Can you bring a bottle of champagne? I think it’s alright for the girls to have a glass, wouldn’t you agree?” She turns to Sayaka’s mom. “Is it alright with you?”

Sayaka’s mom nods. “A bit won’t hurt her.”

Sayaka beams as she’s handed a small flute of champagne. She’s been drinking this since last year, when she and Momo snuck some to celebrate finally going to the same school again.

All in all, the reaction is better than Sayaka could have ever hoped for. For a hot second she was worried her parents wouldn’t allow her to spend the rest of the summer with Momo, since they would be largely unsupervised, but her parents don’t say a word against it. Before they leave to go back to work, they hug her and wish her well on her trip, and as soon as Sayaka is sure that they’re not coming back she packs up everything she’ll need for now to getting back from America, and she heads over to Momo’s place.

Momo’s parents spend a lot of time away, at their company or one of its foreign branches. Since Momo has basically an entire floor to herself, including more than one bedroom, Sayaka doesn’t actually know if her parents are aware that they’re sharing a bed. If they do know, they don’t have a problem with it. If they don’t know, it’s not like they’re saying anything against it.

Sayaka unpacks her bag in the spare bedroom, but since she sleeps in Momo’s room, the majority of her stuff ends up mingled with Momo’s stuff anyway.

“I don’t know why we bother trying to keep our stuff separated,” Momo says. “We pretty much share everything anyway.”

Even with a fabulous trip abroad weeks away, Momo and Sayaka are not immune to the lazy boredom of summer. They spend the bulk of their days sprawled on the bed, or the floor, or any soft surface really, slogging through their homework and text Akemi.

 

With a week until they leave for Disney World, Sayaka really does want to finish her homework, but it’s so boring. She and Momo have spent the morning in the pool, and even though it’s been an hour since they moved to Momo’s room to start homework, she hasn’t made much progress on her practical dueling worksheet. Even the solid headboard she’s leaning against can’t keep her from being distracted by the softness of the mattress she’s sitting on. Maybe it was a mistake to try to work after swimming.

She looks to the foot of the bed, where Momo has buried her face in her hands and is muttering to herself. The bed is long enough that Sayaka has to wriggle down the bed to prod at Momo with her toes.

“My opponent has activated Trap Hole, how screwed am I?” Sayaka asks.

Momo groans, her face buried in the pillow. “Not as screwed you might think?”

It’s true, what with all the formerly discarded monsters that Sayaka now has in her deck. She’s still got to work out an answer to the question, though. Most of her summer homework reads like this question—it’s about various situations that may arise during a duel when certain spells, traps, or effects are activated, and how they affect one’s own deck.

Sayaka flops her arm over the bedside table until she finds her deck. She counts out the number of monster cards she’s got with over a thousand life points. Without even thinking about it, she starts smiling. She sits up and whispers, “Ichi…jū…”

Momo, who had been sprawled across the bed, shoots up and continues, “Hyaku…sen!!!”

Together they point towards the sky and shout, “Manjōme-sandā!!!”

A loud crack sounds through-out the room and they both jump, then whirl around to see that a book has fallen from Momo’s desk.

“Christ,” Sayaka says, hand over her heart, “Was that Peach?”

Momo shakes her head. “He’s next to me.”

The two of them share a wide-eyed look, then they both scramble to hide under the covers. Momo urges Peach to scope out the room, and though she reports that Peach can’t see anything weird afoot, it’s still a good half hour before they dare to kick the covers off—since by then it’s too hot to keep hiding.

Momo darts across the room to turn up the AC, and Sayaka gets a look at her now wrinkled worksheet.

“Aw, crap!” Sayaka groans as she realizes she never answered the question, “I forgot how many monsters I counted!”

She’ll never get any work done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be Disney World!


	15. Snapshot

The hot sun beating down can’t do a thing to dampen Sayaka’s spirits as she climbs into the plastic elephant. She clings to the handle-bar as it’s lowered, her heart racing with excitement. It’s her third time on this ride, and she still feels like a little kid every time the ride starts and Dumbo lifts into the air. She lets out a whoop of excitement and throws her head back as the wind slips past her face. When she looks down, she sees Akemi and Momo waving at her from the ground, each with their phones out as they film her. Sayaka waves to them, then she goes back to pretending that it’s real, that she’s really riding on a flying elephant. Maybe it’s silly, but she feels so free here.

After the ride, Sayaka meets up with Momo and Akemi. She flings herself into Momo’s arms, giggling and giddy.

“Easily my favorite ride,” Sayaka says, looking back at the circle of Dumbo carriages that take off into the air once more.

“Really? We had no idea,” Akemi teases.

Momo links her fingers through Sayaka’s and looks down at her phone. “Okay, we have to get to Town Hall, the meet and greet is going to start in half an hour.”

The trio make their way to the entrance of Magic Kingdom, eyes on Cinderella’s castle as it shimmers in the afternoon heat. They dodge lines for the more popular attractions, let the sounds of music and conversation wash over them, and soon make their way to the building where Tinker Bell will soon be greeting guests. They get the autograph books out of their bags—they purchased the books at the start of their vacation—and flip to the pages they want the character to sign. The line is relatively short, but there’s still a few minutes until the autograph session starts.

Sayaka’s too old to think that the actors playing these characters are real, and she’s been to Disney in Tokyo and met characters there, too, but there is something magical about being in the park and “meeting” Princesses, Fairies, and other characters. So when she, Momo, and Akemi are called forward to meet Tinker Bell, Sayaka’s smile is as genuine as any child’s, and she’s thrilled when Tinker Bell sprinkles “Fairy dust” on her head. They take pictures with the fairy, and the photographer scans their wrist bands so they can view the pictures later. There’s something bitter-sweet about waving goodbye to Tinker Bell so the next group can come meet her.

“Where to, now?” Sayaka asks as they emerge back on Main Street.

Akemi looks down the busy avenue. “Some shopping, then a swim at the hotel?”

Momo and Sayaka nod. “Sounds good!”

 

Sayaka drops her shopping bags on the bed and collapses next to them with a groan. “I need to go to the hot tub, like now.”

“I concur,” Akemi says as she drops her bags beside Sayaka’s, and flops down on the bed as well. “Oh,” she says, tugging off her glasses, “Wait, laying down feels good, too.”

Momo breezes into the room and laughs at the pair of them. “Wimps! You’ve walked more than this!”

“Not in a week,” Sayaka protests.

And it’s true, in the week they’ve been at Disney world, Sayaka thinks she’s walked more than she has in her entire life. The park is enormous! The resort they’re staying at is enormous! It’s modeled after Caribbean islands, with six different housing areas (each with its own pool!) named after the islands. The three of them are staying in the Aruba section, and all the buildings are situated around a huge lake, which provides a lovely setting for sunsets. The central area has a food court, and a pool with a water slide and hot tub. The grounds are lovely, the people are lovely, and honestly if it was just the resort it would have been a lovely vacation. But the parks, oh the parks are wonderful. With plenty of time to explore, the trio weren’t rushing to get all the rides done at once, but even without the rush there was a lot of walking.

Momo takes off her sunglasses and announces that she’s changing into her bathing suit. As the bathroom door shuts, Akemi digs her phone out of her pocket and chuckles.

“My sister says she’s crazy jealous that we met Tinker Bell.”

Sayaka laughs. “Did you tell her that you got an autograph for her?”

“Hell no,” Akemi says, “That’s a surprise.”

So far they’ve gotten autographs from all the Princesses, and they’re working on getting autographs from all the rest of the characters now, too.

Momo steps out of the bathroom in her bathing suit and whines at Sayaka and Akemi to put on their bathing suits and join her. They cave and get changed, and after putting on some sunscreen, the three of them head to the central pool. It’s still rather early (for a Disney afternoon), and most people are still in the parks. The few people who are at the pool seem to be guests with small children, who are taking a break from the Florida heat to keep their kids calm. A few employees, or “cast members” as they’re called, are hosting games for these children.

Momo, Sayaka, And Akemi put their things down on some lounge chairs and head for the water slide, the best way to enter a pool on a hot day. One by one they slide down and careen into the cool water, emerging with big smiles. They swim lazily in the deep water, and take turns showing off a few hand-stands. A little girl sees and swims over to ask how to do it herself. Momo is the best at English, and she walks the little girl through it while Sayaka and Akemi demonstrate. After a little while, the girl does a handstand on her own, and the three of them give her high-fives and congratulate her. As the child swims off, the trio head for the hot tub.

“Why can’t we live here?” Akemi asks as they sink into the hot water. “This really is the happiest place on earth.”

And though Sayaka knows that it’s a lot of marketing and strict training of employees, there really is something great about this place. People are so friendly, and even with a language barrier, Sayaka feels connected to people, even if all they do is share a smile while on line for a ride.

“Tell me about it,” Momo sighs. “I’d give anything to just stay here.”

“Not me,” Sayaka says, “I’ve got responsibilities now!”

“Oh, right,” Akemi laughs, “Ms. Class Rep!”

“And the author of the Guide,” Momo says.

Sayaka grins. “And as nice as it is here, don’t you think we would miss the weirdness of Duel Academy?”

Momo gives her a wry smile. “Oh, I suppose. And I guess with Peach following me around, it’s kind of like having a Pixie on my shoulder.”

Akemi and Sayaka laugh. “That’s the spirit!” Akemi says.

They don’t stay in the hot tub for too long, and when they do leave they put on their cover-ups and head into the food court for water and a snack, which they eat on the way back to the Aruba area. They’re not ready to go inside, so they stay at their building’s pool, which is much quieter. They lie in the sun, they sit on the edge of the pool and soak their feet in the cool water.

When they get hungry again, the trio go back to their room and get changed before hopping on a bus to Disney Springs, the up-scale shopping and dining area in Orlando. They eat at, of all places, a Japanese restaurant. The irony is not lost on them, but after a week of hamburgers and giant turkey legs, it’s nice to eat some well-made sushi. After dinner they get ice cream and eat it while they watch a band perform. On the bus back to the resort, they pass one of the park’s fireworks shows.

Upon arriving back at their building, they get ready to go to sleep. Tomorrow they get to go to breakfast at the Polynesian resort, where they’ll meet Lilo and Stitch, and they need to be up early.

“You know something?” Akemi asks as she prepares to turn out the lights. She sleeps in her own bed, nearest the light switch, while Momo and Sayaka share the other one.

“What?” Sayaka and Momo ask together.

“I keep dreaming that I’m back at school,” Akemi says, frowning slightly. “So, does that mean when I am back at school, I’ll dream I’m here?”

Sayaka opens her mouth, then closes it. Momo grabs Sayaka’s phone, and under the note Sayaka wrote about Akemi calling Momo kissing the ground at Duel Academy, she makes a new one.

“Will Akemi have Disney dreams at school?”

Akemi laughs. “Be kind of funny if I did, wouldn’t it?”

“I guess we’ll find out when we go back,” Sayaka says as she settles into bed.

But as much as she misses school, she’s glad they won’t be going back for a while yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally start writing again and Voltron is going to be out next week. So I may disappear from this story for a while, who knows.


	16. Back

Sayaka presses Momo’s binoculars to her face, adjusting the focus knob as quickly as she can. “Holy shit,” she whispers, “It’s true!”

Momo and Akemi gasp and press their hands to their mouths. “But how?” Akemi asks. “The island has always gotten through storms!”

“Nobody was here,” Momo says, “Nobody performed the ceremony for Manjoume-sanda!”

And though Sayaka was never one to put much faith in that legend, the proof is in the distance, where cranes and other heavy-duty construction equipment can be seen on the Academy’s grounds, rebuilding the gymnasium.

The notice had gone out the same day the three girls had gotten back to Japan after their Disney vacation—there would be construction on the island, and practical dueling classes would be suspended until the gym, damaged in a recent hurricane, could be repaired. For a while, the girls had thought that the damage wasn’t that serious, but as they boarded the ship to go back to school, rumors had been running rampant among the students that the gym had been completely destroyed. It seemed that there was some truth to rumors.

“Wow,” Sayaka says as she passes the binoculars off to Akemi, “No practical dueling for a while…I guess it’ll be like a trial run of the changes I wanted to implement.”

“At least it wasn’t the dorms,” Momo says. She chuckles. “Can you imagine, getting back to school and not being able to unpack because your room was being rebuilt?”

“Small favors,” Akemi agrees. “Thank you, Manjoume-sanda.”

Suddenly Momo gasps and reaches out to grab Sayaka’s shoulder. “Dorms! Crap, I forgot!”

“Forgot what?” Sayaka asks as she attempts to twist out of Momo’s grip.

Momo turns to look wide-eyed at Sayaka and Akemi. “While I was suffering from my concussion, I was hearing things, remember I told you? Well I heard a lot of talk about a ‘white dorm.’ Have either of you ever heard anything about that before?”

Sayaka frowns. “A white dorm? That…but the dorms have always been Red, Blue, and Yellow, haven’t they?”

“What about the abandoned dorm?” Akemi asks. “What color was that one?”

“It was a dorm for Blue students, like, the best of them,” Momo says.

Akemi rolls her eyes. “God, this school is so elitist.”

Momo nods, “It is. But the point is, that dorm wasn’t white. So why were people talking about a white dorm?”

Sayaka gasps. “Do we have our first official mystery of the year?!”

Momo grins at her. “I hope so, I’m really curious! In all the excitement about Peach and then Disney, I totally forgot about it until now.”

They start planning how to find information about this mysterious dorm, but stop when the ship docks on the island. Momo runs off ahead of Sayaka and Akemi, and when they catch up to her, they find her hugging a tree.

“Not kissing the ground,” Momo says stubbornly as Sayaka and Akemi laugh at her.

“You’re ridiculous,” Sayaka tells her fondly.

The trio promise to meet up for dinner as they head off to their dorms. Sayaka and Momo skip into the Blue dorm hand-in-hand, and they run straight to Ms. Ayukawa and give her a hug.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Sayaka says as they hug her.

“I’ve missed you girls,” She says. “And welcome back!” She reaches into the bag on her hip and hands them both key-cards. “These have your room numbers on them, you’re neighbors,” she says with a wink. “Sayaka, there’s a meeting for class representatives tomorrow after the welcome dinner.”

Sayaka nods. “I’ll be there!”

They head up to the second floor where their rooms are. When Sayaka enters her room, her breath catches in her throat. The view from her window is beautiful, and there’s a bench seat with a mattress and throw pillows so she can sit and take in the volcano and the ocean. And as she recalls the view of the lake from the hotel in Disney, she admits that she much prefers the view from this dorm room to that one.

Sayaka checks out her room—she’s got a queen size bed, plenty of room for her clothes, a desk with room for a computer, and a private bathroom with a good-sized shower.

There’s a knock on the door and Sayaka runs to open it, expecting Momo, but it’s the porters with her luggage. She’s just starting to unpack when the door opens again and Momo strolls in.

“Nice view,” Momo says, walking to the window bench and sitting down.

“I like it better than the one in Disney,” Sayaka admits.

Momo grins. “And you say I’m a nerd.”

Sayaka makes a face and Momo giggles. Sayaka abandons her attempts to unpack and sits next to her girlfriend. “What do you think we’ll discover this year?” She asks, laying her head on Momo’s shoulder.

Momo takes Sayaka’s hand and kisses her palm. “Hopefully, it won’t be liminal spaces.”

Sayaka nods and looks to the sky. “Keep us safe, Judai.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be watching Voltron tonight and I'll be obsessed with it for a while. Also it's Zexal Month so...this story might be in limbo for a bit.


	17. Secret

Sayaka’s head is spinning after her first student council meeting. The meeting had started normally, with the representatives going over notes from the previous council members, but upon the conclusion of that, Daisuke said that there was no point in discussing anything serious as they had no input on what to do yet. So, he challenged the entire council to reenact their favorite their favorite meme. At first Sayaka had been exasperated, but once Aiko had done her longest “yeah boi” ever, she had begun to thoroughly enjoy herself, and she didn’t think she’d laughed that hard since that night in the girl’s bath the previous year.

As she’s getting ready to leave, she suddenly stops and runs up to Daisuke. “Hey Pres, I’ve got a question for you.”

Daisuke zips up his backpack and gestures for her to follow him. “Walk and talk, kid.”

Sayaka follows him, jogging to keep up. “Have you ever heard anything about a white dorm?” She asks.

Daisuke laughs. “Oh little Blue, that is information that is highly classified, way beyond your pay grade.”

“So you know something?” Sayaka confirms.

Daisuke winks. “Now I didn’t say that, did I?”

They’re outside, and Sayaka moves in front of Daisuke, walking backwards so she can face him. “Momo overheard something about it. We’re not going to go blabbing about it or anything, it’s for the sake of satisfying our own curiosity.”

Daisuke stops walking suddenly and gives Sayaka a pat on the head. “You’re becoming quite the conspiracy theorist, aren’t you?”

Sayaka makes a face at him.

“Well,” Daisuke continues, “For a former Yellow, and a fellow student council member, I suppose I can let you in on the secret.” He leans in. “The white dorm was real, for a time, about four years ago.”

“They just introduced a new dorm?” Sayaka asks. “Why? Where did they build it? The abandoned dorm—”

Daisuke interrupts. “The white dorm wasn’t abandoned.” He grabs Sayaka’s shoulders and turns her around. “Here it is.”

Sayaka blinks. “What? This is the Blue dorm!”

Daisuke doesn’t answer. She turns and sees him running madly away from her.

Sayaka growls. “Bastard.”

 

“What a jerk,” Sayaka grumbles as she viciously stabs her broccoli. “He’s playing with me.”

Momo pokes Sayaka’s hand. “Leave the broccoli alone, it didn’t do anything.”

Akemi looks thoughtful. “What if he wasn’t playing with you?”

“What could he have meant?” Sayaka asks.

“Well, maybe it’s referencing a meme,” Akemi says. “Maybe the students called the Blue dorm the white dorm for a while.”

“No, it wasn’t a joke,” Momo says. “The things I heard were pretty serious.”

Akemi taps her fingers against the table. “What if…Sayaka, remember how we knew we were in the ghost boy’s room because we found formulas that had been painted over? What if this dorm was painted over?”

“Like, outside?” Sayaka asks.

“Sure,” Akemi says. “It would take a lot of work, but maybe the students wanted a change. Maybe they went rogue and painted it themselves. It’s possible, if they all worked together. And maybe the administration painted it back over, so it was only for a little while.”

“If that were the case, there should be evidence,” Momo says. Her eyes light up. “I can get us on the roof! If they painted this dorm white, the roof would be the one spot you couldn’t miss!”

“How do you know how to get on the roof?” Akemi asks.

“Rena showed me,” Momo says. “All the Blues go up there to smoke.”

“Potheads,” Akemi and Sayaka mutter together.

 

At midnight, Momo leads the way up a set of service stairs, guided by the light of three phones. It’s hot in the stairwell, and even though it’s not a tall dorm, the girls are breathless by the time they get to the roof door.

“Here’s the trick,” Momo whispers. She stands on her tip-toes and feels around above the door frame for a few seconds before she pulls down a roll of tape. “There’s a trigger above the door that trips when you open it without like, a key or something. But if you put tape over the trigger, it keeps the alarm from going off. We just have to remember to take the tape off when we go back inside.”

Sayaka gives Momo a boost so she can safely put tape over the trigger, and then Momo picks the lock to get them on the roof. A blast of cool air hits them as they walk out, and it’s a nice change from the hot stairwell.

“Wow,” Sayaka says as she looks at the moon and the reflection of it in the lake, “This is beautiful!”

“This should totally go in the guide,” Akemi says.

“Enjoy the view later,” Momo says, “We’ve got paint to peel!”

So the girls get on their hands and knees and crawl over the roof, looking for weak spots in the paint, and after a few minutes Sayaka finds a spot with some nice-looking cracks. The other two come over and they start working at the paint with their fingernails.

“This is not as easy as I thought it would be,” Akemi says as she picks a stuck paint chip out of her nailbed.

Sayaka blows dust away from the cracks, and she squints at the tiny spot of white paint that they’ve uncovered.

“This doesn’t prove that this dorm was white, though,” Sayaka says. “I mean, it could just be a base coat.”

“It’s not,” a new voice says.

The girls barely hold back shrieks as they turn to the voice, shining their phone lights into the face of the last person Sayaka expected to see on the Obelisk Blue roof at midnight.

“Daisuke?!” She cries, “What the hell??”

Daisuke grins at them. “I knew you were smart enough to figure out what I meant. Welcome to the white dorm!”

Momo points at him. “How did you get up here?! Did you follow us?”

“No,” Daisuke says. “I climbed that tree over there and jumped on the roof. I’ve been waiting here for an hour.”

“Creep,” Akemi accuses.

“Rude,” Daisuke says with a frown. “Don’t you want to know more about the white dorm?”

“Yes,” Sayaka says quickly. “But how do you know about it?”

“My brother was here when it happened,” Daisuke says, taking a seat on the roof. “Some guy enrolled in this school, and he started brainwashing students. He created something called the Society of Light, and nearly every student in the school joined it. They all became obsessed with light, actual light, and the color white. They wore white uniforms and painted the Blue dorm white, and they began calling it the White dorm.”

“And the teachers just allowed it?” Momo scoffs, “That sounds totally fake.”

Daisuke raises an eyebrow and pulls an envelope from his pocket. “Have a look,” he says, handing Momo the envelope.

Momo opens it and pulls out a stack of polaroids. The girls flip through them, and they see students in white uniforms, posing in front of a familiar dorm that’s been painted bright white.

“My brother took those,” Daisuke says. “He says that at the time, Samejima wasn’t in charge of the school, Chronos was, and Chronos was having a hard time controlling the students. By the time Samejima got back, the guy who started the Society was so popular among the students, and so many of them had joined the society, there was little he could do to bring it under control. It took Yuki Judai defeating the guy in a duel to make him stop hypnotizing, or brainwashing, or whatever he was doing to the students. After that, it’s said that Manjoume-thunder repainted the Blue dorm single handedly.”

“That’s insane,” Sayaka says.

Daisuke laughs. “Is it? After everything you’ve learned about this school, is it really so hard to believe that it’s a magnet for the impossible and improbable?”

Well, when he puts it like that…

“Now,” Daisuke says, “I have a question for you three. What made you so interested in the white dorm? You’ve all been asking a lot of questions about strange stuff; you’re not trying to disrupt our learning environment, are you?”

The girls glance at each other, and Akemi shrugs. “Up to you what you wanna say, Sayaka.”

Sayaka sighs. “We’re not trying to disrupt anything. I’m writing a guide to all the strange stuff that happens at this school.”

Daisuke’s face lights up. “How delightful!” He cries. “What a great idea! Oh boy, I have so much I could tell you. Alright, if you need any help at all, you just come to your old student council president, alright?” He laughs, “I’m just glad you’re not looking to plunge the school into utter chaos, that’s my job!”

“Oh,” Momo laughs, “We would never…wait, what do you mean your job?! What are you planning?”

“Oh, no time,” Daisuke says, snatching back the photographs and stuffing them in his pocket. “I’ve got things to do. Tally-ho!” And he runs to the edge of the roof, leaps off and into the branches of a tree, and before the girls can get their hearts out of their throats, he’s scrambled down the tree and is taking off across the lawn.

“That man,” Akemi wheezes, “Is a lunatic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help, Daisuke is my fave.


End file.
